New Law Makes it Illegal to "Jailbreak" Smartphone
By: Bill Palmer
Updated: January 28, 2013
A new law makes it illegal to unlock your cell phone. If you're thinking about jailbreaking your phone and switching carriers, you may want to think again.
Since January 26th, it is now illegal to unlock or jailbreak your smartphone.
What is jailbreaking? That's when you install a software program on your computer, transfer it to your iphone, and that application then breaks open the iphone's system to allow you to make changes.
That's illegal. What you're getting from Apple is a license to their software, and there's a strict list of what you can or cannot do with your phone.
But if you try to modify your phone now you'll be facing a fine up to 25-hundred dollars. And if you're a business and selling unlocked phones illegally, you'll be facing a hefty penalty of 500 thousand dollars and up to five years in jail.
