Help the EFF keep jailbreaking legal

Back in July of 2010, the US government ruled that jailbreaking an iPhone (or rooting an Android device, or whatever you do with other devices out there to unlock them) was all above board and legal and as long as the action wasn't being carried out to circumvent copy protection.

You'd think that would be the end of the story, but you'd be wrong. It turns out that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is asking the US Copyright Office to declare that unlocking the operating system of smartphones does not violate DMCA and the organization is not only calling on them to renew the exception, but to also expand it to cover tablets and video games consoles.

Here's what the EFF want you to do:

The Copyright Office needs to hear from people who depend on the ability to jailbreak to write, use, and/or tinker with independent software (from useful apps to essential security fixes) for smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. You can submit comments online at this link.

Here are some questions you might want to address in your comments:

- Which jailbreaking exemption are you supporting—smartphones/tablets, video game consoles, or both?

- What's your background (i.e., are you a developer, hobbyist, academic, independent researcher, user, etc.)?

- What device do you want to ensure you have the legal authority to jailbreak?

- Please explain why you want to jailbreak this device. What limitations do you face if you aren't able to jailbreak it? Is there software you couldn't run, computing capabilities you wouldn't have, cool things you couldn't do, etc.?

- If you’re a developer, did an online application store or console manufacturer reject your app or game? If so, what reasons did they give?

- Is there anything else you want to tell the Copyright Office?

Comments are due in by no later than 5:00 pm EST. on February 10, 2012.

If you value jailbreaking, then you need to lend your voice to this cause.