Tagged: copyright debate

8:57am

Wed February 20, 2013
Law

Obscure law change makes it harder to unlock cellphones

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 6:41 am

Maybe you don't like your mobile phone carrier, but you like your phone and you want to keep it but change providers. An obscure change in federal law makes it illegal to switch without permission from your carrier.

If you have, for example, AT&T, in order to switch to T-Mobile you have to unlock the phone, and AT&T can now stop you from doing that.

The change in the copyright law has some people upset, and they're petitioning the White House for a fix.

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1:33pm

Fri February 10, 2012
Tech news

Germany balks at global anti-piracy agreement, echoes concerns over SOPA

Originally published on Fri February 10, 2012 11:58 am

Credit Fredrik Persson / AFP/Getty Images

Germany is putting off signing an international anti-piracy accord known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

ACTA, as the agreement is known, has been controversial for years. In many ways, it's been controversial in the same way that the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has been in the United States.

We reported about the accord back in 2009, but slowly it's been watered down and signed by many countries including the United States, Japan and many European countries.

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