Kid that better not be a jailbroken phone. (Photo: blogcdn.com)

At the end of January, it became technically illegal for you to unlock your phone without your carrier's permission, even if your contract had expired. The call was made by the Librarian of Congress, who (for some reason) oversees exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and decided that cellphone unlockers would no longer get a pass.

This didn't sit well with righteous nerds and startup folks, and so a San Francisco man named Sina Khanifar started collecting signatures on the White House's petition platform, pleading that the Obama administration "ask the Librarian of Congress to rescind this decision, and failing that, champion a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal." The petition reached 114,322 signatures, obligating the administration to respond.

That response came today. It's titled, "It's Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking," and it's pretty full-throated in its support:

If you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs.

Of course, there's really not all that much the White House can do, except call on other parties to do something:

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress, the wireless and mobile phone industries, and most importantly you -- the everyday consumers who stand to benefit from this greater flexibility -- to ensure our laws keep pace with changing technology, protect the economic competitiveness that has led to such innovation in this space, and offer consumers the flexibility and freedoms they deserve.

The White House says they've even support "narrow legislative fixes," but let's face it, getting Congress to cooperate isn't going so great.

But that doesn't seem to phase Mr. Khanifar, who has undertaken the broader goal of fixing the DMCA itself. He told Betatbeat in a statement,

While I think this is wonderful, I think the real culprit here is Section 1201 of the DMCA, the controversial "anti-circumvention provision." I discussed with the White House the potential of pushing to have that provision amended or removed, and they want to continue that conversation. I'll have exciting news on the campaign to make this happen tomorrow.

He also tweeted that he'd be "Launching a website tomorrow to campaign for fixing the DMCA properly. Will see what happens!"

Just spitballing here, but we're guessing what'll happen is the glacially paced federal government will test Mr. Khanifer's patience to its very limits.

iThief via The Daily News

Here's a bit of freudenschade to distract distraught Apple acolytes. A tech-savvy Queens woman caught the man who stole her iPhone on camera by installing an app called iGotYa.

Unlike Apple's free Find My iPhone software, which shows the approximate location of the device, iGotYa will take take a photo of whenever someone's unsuccessfully trying to unlock your iPhone and email it to the owner. So, if you throw back a few too many, chances are you'll wake to a self-portrait in your inbox.

The only catch for the app is that you have to jailbreak your phone first. The police are asking the public to help find the man in the photograph, who is still at large. Thankfully the thief was just a pickpocket and the iPhone owner sustained no injuries. But Betabeat is sending iGotYa to our dinged-up friend at the Wee Hours column in case bad luck should strike twice.

Ever since the iPhone was launched in 2007, unlockers have struggled to come up with a safe and permanent way to open Apple’s tightly controlled handset, resorting to jailbreaking methods that reversed when a user updated their software.

But a new fix seems more permanent, and has unlockers speculating it comes from an inside man at Apple. The proprietor of a big New York based unlocking site tipped Betabeat off, saying the insider had been spotted hanging out on forum gsmhosting.com, peddling a solution that works for every global carrier for £100 sterling a pop.

“The source of the codes is more than likely an Apple employee,” says our tipster, who didn’t want to be identified due to his position in this tight-knit community, “because he has access to all global handsets. It’s coming from Apple’s main server.” Not wanting to out himself publicly, the apple informer is working through an established forum poster and unlock provider based in Sweden.

“We have people asking every hour for this since 2007, people are desperate for a solution,” said the tipster of the major waves this development has created in the largely under-the-radar industry. Despite the hype, our source doesn’t expect that this opportunity will last forever: “If he is caught doing this, he will be fired. Apple will go nuts!” Many believe that Apple can reverse the process, rendering the unlock null and void. Needless to say, there will be no refunds.

We have reached out to Apple and will update with any comment.

Several sites claim permanent unlock (BGR)

Cut Your Sim Unlocks iPhone without Jailbreak (Gizmodo)