United States President Barack Obama will today sign a bill that makes cell phone unlocking legal again, writing the into law following its by the Senate and House of Representatives. Obama has long supported the act, which was originally introduced via a 2013 "" petition that gathered more than 100,000 signatures calling for cell phone unlocking to be made legal. It first in January of 2013, after an exception in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act expired, restricting U.S. customers from shifting their service to other carriers or using their devices abroad with local SIM cards. Now that cell phone unlocking is once again legal, consumers and third-party unlocking services will be able to unlock paid-for cell phones and tablets without receiving express permission from carriers and without facing criminal penalties. The changes will make it easier for consumers to take their devices to the carrier of their choice after contractual obligations have been fulfilled and it will also be easier to use exist
