Phone unlocking ban could could hit you in the wallet | PCWorld http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026236/phone-unlocking-ban-could-could-hit-you-in-the-wallet.html

The ban means that you won’t be able to (lawfully) decouple your phone from one carrier and move to another carrier that uses the same cellular technology (GSM, CDMA, etc.) unless your carrier agrees to send you an unlock code. Imagine buying a car equipped with software that prevents you from taking certain roads—and being legally barred from disabling the software! The wireless carriers will unlock phones under certain circumstances, but they don’t like to. For instance AT&T will unlock your iPhone if you can prove you are a current or former AT&T subscriber, that your iPhone was “designed for use on the AT&T network,” and that you are in complete compliance with “all contract obligations, including any term commitment.”

The DMCA was a law signed by Clinton and written by Hollywood that makes ALL our media WAAAAAY more expensive (and profitable).