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U.S. Government to Explicitly Allow iPhone Jailbreaking

tonkaxxtuph said:
So now that the government thinks jailbreaking should be ok, does that mean its ok to steal paid apps from developers? Isn't this a copy rights issue? Damn government sucks! Now they should be paying restitution for all those people they busted for downloading and distributing music.
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I despair for the literacy of this generation. Let's try again with small words:

The DMCA makes getting around software and hardware restrictions on copying or accessing material illegal. This ruling lifts that legal restriction. The DMCA has nothing to do with general copyright violation, so this has nothing to do with illegally distributing music, or apps, or movies.

Clear?
 
NokX said:
while i personally approve of jailbreaking, it's pretty scary the government can tell a company what to allow/disallow on their own products.

if jailbreaking is that important to you...buy a different phone. in a free country the government shouldn't be telling people how to live or how to operate their businesses.
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The government is not telling Apply they need to allow support of a jail-broken iphone. This is more of an "attempt" to clear up what i legally approved by the government. Apple still has all right to void your warranty if they find that you have altered their software in an unproved manner. The fact is people who are interested in this should read the .pdf link carefully https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/dmca_2009/RM-2008-8.pdf . The main stuff starts half way threw page 7. Essentially there it is still to early to draw any conclusions as to how this will affect Apple and the jail-breaking community.
 
I hate Apple's arrogance and it’s great to see a bigger kid in the playground slap them down, but with this new freedom, users will need to be a bit more careful if they venture into the world of Apple unapproved applications. This is not to say an Apple approved iPhone application is perfect, look at Citi’s recent screw up with their iPhone app, which was approved by Apple.

Generally I think this ruleing is good because it gives the some of the more seasoned users, willing to assume the risks associated with an unlocked phone, more options. I just want to be able to use a European sim card in my U.S. iPhone when I travel to Europe.
 
trebormesos said:
Man how much longer till the government tells me what type of toilet paper to use.
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This is the Library of Congress using the DCMA to state that jailbreaking is fair use. They have done nothing - again, absolutely nothing - to dictate what you can do in your day-to-day. This is not an overreach by the government in any sense. This is the government ensuring that you as the end user have a right to fair use of the products you purchase.

Would you rather have the government roll over all the time, letting corporations continually screw you over?
 
dukebound85 said:
Hmm, I thought you were all for capitalism and free market with no government intervention which would lead one to think that these laws are thus too much government involvement in business. :cool:
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+1
I was scratching my head wondering whether he'd spot the hypocrisy in his own argument. Thanks for highlighting that for us. Turns out Full of Win is a big socialist when it suits him.
 
Tulse said:
I despair for the literacy of this generation. Let's try again with small words:

The DMCA makes getting around software and hardware restrictions on copying or accessing material illegal. This ruling lifts that legal restriction. The DMCA has nothing to do with general copyright violation, so this has nothing to do with illegally distributing music, or apps, or movies.

Clear?
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No not really...realistically speaking people only jailbreak phones to get free apps or use it on different networks. Making it legal or clarifying the position or making it law that its ok to do so just entices people to want to jailbreak their phones and in the end...download free apps?

what do you say to that wise old sage?
 
douflag said:
If only this prevented Crapple from actually doing something about JB. It would be nice for this to prevent patching of firmware to stop the jailbreaks.
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All Apple has to do is state that the exploit is a security flaw, which it is, and they can patch it with the next update.
 
Avatar74 said:
Wait... this is the same government that doesn't allow you to circumvent digital copyright protection schema under 17 USC 12 (a.k.a. DMCA)?

So jailbreaking Apple's stuff is ok. Jailbreaking the recording and motion picture industry's stuff not ok.

Got it. Clear as mud.



P.S. I'm not endorsing piracy. I'm against piracy. I just find the contradiction a bit baffling.
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This was my thought exactly! It's almost like saying to the consumer, "go ahead and willfully try to break something and oh Apple, would you mind fixing that for them when they break it?!?"

The last thing I want is this reckless regard to personal responsibility. Own your own freaking mistakes/actions!
 
trebormesos said:
Man how much longer till the government tells me what type of toilet paper to use.
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Warbrain said:
This is the Library of Congress using the DCMA to state that jailbreaking is fair use. They have done nothing - again, absolutely nothing - to dictate what you can do in your day-to-day. This is not an overreach by the government in any sense. This is the government ensuring that you as the end user have a right to fair use of the products you purchase.

Would you rather have the government roll over all the time, letting corporations continually screw you over?
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Absolutely nothing to add. :)
 
Master Chief said:
So tell me something. Why is making a derivative work of OS X illegal, while it apparently is no longer for iOS [mostly to install unapproved apps]. I'm confused.
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You are basing your question on a false supposition. The only thing that was changed today is that it's not illegal to defeat the technological measures that protect the iOS from modification. That doesn't mean it's legal to modify the iOS. Copyright law is a separate body of law from the DMCA, and today's announcement involves only the DMCA.

Think of it this way. The DMCA makes it illegal to break into a house. Copyright law makes it illegal to steal things from a house.

Today the government said they won't put you in jail for breaking and entering. Doesn't mean you're allowed to steal.
 
trebormesos said:
Man how much longer till the government tells me what type of toilet paper to use.
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What a dumb statement. This is more like you bought a toilet and the toilet maker was telling you what type of toilet paper you had to use. The government unfortunately had to step in and say it's still OK to use other brands of toilet paper.
 
tonkaxxtuph said:
No not really...realistically speaking people only jailbreak phones to get free apps or use it on different networks. Making it legal or clarifying the position or making it law that its ok to do so just entices people to want to jailbreak their phones and in the end...download free apps?

what do you say to that wise old sage?
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Realistically do you have any numbers to back up this statement? If not, its not realistic and just pure speculation on your part.
 
darngooddesign said:
All Apple has to do is state that the exploit is a security flaw, which it is, and they can patch it with the next update.
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They don't have to claim anything. Even if they said "We fixed a hole that allowed unsigned code insertion." that's well within their rights. This has no effect on Apple finding and closing holes.
 
I'm baffled as to what people are deducing from all of this. I wonder how many people are actually reading the original document. It's not that difficult and you might actually learn something.
 
pmjoe said:
What a dumb statement. This is more like you bought a toilet and the toilet maker was telling you what type of toilet paper you had to use. The government unfortunately had to step in and say it's still OK to use other brands of toilet paper.
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