One of the more common and legitimate reasons to jailbreak your iPhone is to unlock it — to free it from the iron-clad grasp of one carrier, and let you use it more readily on international networks. However, according to TechNewsDaily tomorrow will mark a point when doing so could violate the law.
Back in October we covered a new decision by the Librarian of Congress that decided jailbreaking phones was fine, tablets less so, and unlocking was right out. Those laws go into effect on Saturday, and mean that you’re not meant to unlock a new phone without a carrier’s approval.
From what I understand (though IANAL), this only applies to phones purchased after the date.
I’m really not sure what the logic is behind this rule. If I’m already locked in to a contract with AT&T (or whoever), and then I put in another carrier’s SIM, I still have to pay a monthly bill to AT&T. That’s the whole thing about a contract, after all.
Simultaneously, a rumor that a jailbreak for iOS 6.1 is about to be released has popped up, though I’m assuming they’re waiting for iOS 6.1 to be released to the general public first.
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