White House Petition Concerning Legality Of Unlocking Phones Passes The Magic 100,000 Mark

from the and-now-we-wait dept

Thu, Feb 21st 2013 10:49am — Mike Masnick

Earlier this month, we wrote about a White House Petition, asking to make unlocking mobile phones legal again, since it had been made infringing again, thanks to the Librarian of Congress omitting it from the list of DMCA exceptions last year. As we noted, the White House had recently bumped up the number of signatures needed for it to respond from 25,000 to 100,000, making it difficult to get over that barrier.

However, overnight, that petition finally got over the hurdle, hitting 100,000 signatures. I believe this may be the first petition to hit that threshold under the "new" system. Of course, getting it to that point is merely step one. The real issue is in how the White House will respond, and they have an incredibly easy out: they just point out that the exemption process happens on a schedule, and that those who are concerned about this issue should file to have the Librarian of Congress reconsider in three years...

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Filed Under: dmca, dmca exemptions, mobile phones, petition, unlocking, white house

45 Comments

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Akari Mizunashi (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 9:20am

No, the real issue isn't whether the White House will respond.

The real issue will be what will the new petition cap be.
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:57am
  
  Re:
  I actually like the higher petition threshold because now more trivial issues can better be ignored and more important issues, like this, can be highlighted. Having a million issues pass the 25,000 threshold diminishes the impact of this petition passing the 100,000 signature threshold since the threshold was low and many petitions are to be considered and responded to. Too much clutter. Now, with a higher threshold, this and other more important petitions stand out more.
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  - R.H. (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:32pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I agree with the previous cap being too low but 100,000 seems too high to me. I think 50,000 or 75,000 would be a more fair number. However, I am lacking one piece of information. Did the amount of time allowed to reach the cap go up? If not then there may be another issue with this methodology.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:42pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I actually wouldn't mind seeing the threshold going up a bit. If the threshold is 200,000 and a petition to reduce copy protection lengths goes through with far more than 200,000 (and that's something that far more than 200,000 people should easily sign to) fairly quickly (there should be a reasonable period of time, of course, due to server limitations on the amount of petitions that can be taken at once) and it is one of the very few petitions that goes through, having a higher threshold with fewer petitions to clutter up our attention span sends a much stronger message to the government. WE WANT THIS DONE!!!! and a whole lot of people are paying attention and this is one of the few things we are paying attention to. It makes it easier for the public to show and highlight its consensus and have it stand out.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 9:00pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      50,000 is too little, and 75,000 is too high. The cap should be 62500.
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      - Hephaestus (profile), 22 Feb 2013 @ 9:20am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        65,536 ;)
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        Hephaestus (profile), 22 Feb 2013 @ 9:21am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Geek humor ...
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:02am

Steve's Job
White House: Um, we could, um, make it legal, but, um, have you stopped to consider the lost jobs? In these tuff economic times, um, we need to focus on what really matters, um, jobs. We understand folks may be concerned about what they can or can't do with their [property?] but, um, we don't think it is as important as, um, jobs, at least right now.
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:37am
  
  Re: Steve's Job
  White House: You have to think about the children of the employees of cell carriers don't get paid their bonuses because new customers switching from an old carrier choose not to purchase a new phone and instead use the perfectly functional one they already have. These children are really the issue here. Also when cell carriers don't get paid for new phones, they then can't afford to invest in updated security measures that make them vulnerable to cyber attack. And lastly... piracy is somehow related here. We can't really explain how but trust us it is and that is bad (which we also can't explain how so again just trust us) so you can see where we are just looking out for your best interest here. Thank you for your concern, but we know what we are doing here, and we've got this one. Now you can all go back to looking at cat videos and just let us do our thing.
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:11pm
  
  Re: Steve's Job
  White House to Public: F**K OFF, YOU F**KING F**KERS WHO F**KING THINK F**KING DEMOCRACY WORKS!!! JUST F**K OFF AND F**KING DIE ALREADY!!!
  
  Oh, and now the petition cap is 500m. Tanks for playing!
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:16am

How many of these petitions actually hold weight vs how many get Death Star responses? (nothing against that response)

In other words should I be holding my breath on a decent response from the White House?
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- fogbugzd (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:27pm
  
  Re:
  Actually, the Death Star petition got a better response than most of the petitions have gotten.
  
  I think the responses are mostly written by junior staffers who use the petitions as an opportunity to practice the vital political skill of responding to a question without actually saying or doing anything meaningful.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 2:23pm
    
    Re: Re:
    So you're telling me that 100 million signatures were gathered to point out that our society thinks a law is flawed and all those 100 million signatures do is help further some junior staffer's career?
    
    Power to the people!
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gorehound (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:18am

I have a ZERO Opinion of Today's Government.
Expect the opposite will happen as in nothing will happen but the Cap will get raised again to 250k or something.

Or they will send a meaningless form letter response.
F$ck Off US Government ! you are already bought and paid for before you even run for Office.
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out_of_the_blue, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:29am

And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
However, overnight, that petition finally got over the hurdle, hitting 100,000 signatures. I believe this may be the first petition to hit that threshold under the "new" system. Of course, getting it to that point is merely step one.

You admittedly can't make it over the 2nd step, college boy. Nothing but question marks that you expect someone else to fill in for you.

Take a loopy tour of Techdirt.com! You always end up at same place!
http://techdirt.com/
Don't miss Mike's other site, Step2, where his secret formula for success is revealed as... wait for it... Step 2: ??????
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- Rikuo (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:33am
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  You're the loopy one, actually expecting a secret formula for success that is 100% guaranteed to work. Not once has Mike ever said that his business tips are infallible. For that sort of language, ask the Pope.
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- RD, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:35am
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  Dear OutOfTheAverageJoeBobsAsscrack,
  
  Kindly fuck off if all you are going to do is come on here to take a shot at Mike and the site.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  The Internet
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:54am
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  Mildly entertaining. 2.5/10.
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- weneedhelp (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:01pm
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  "college boy" - Oh you are one of THOSE.
  
  YeeeeeeHawwwwwww!!!!!!
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  - Rich, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:06pm
    
    Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
    Yeah, I always found it interesting that someone thinks calling you a "college boy" is some sort of insult.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:29pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
      Shut up, you dirty intellectual.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Rich, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:34pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
        "Dirty intellectual" Oh yeah, that's me!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Jeff (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:57pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
        I'm really dirty... filthy in fact...
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Rikuo (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:01pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
      I wish I were a college boy...:(
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      - Rich, 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:31pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
        If you want to, do it! It's not always easy, but it is doable. I was a poorboy. I worked in a restaurant for 10 yrs. to get a 4 yr. degree. I worked full time, and drove an hour to college (also full time). My daughter was born during my first semester. Tough times, but at least I have the money now to pay for her college, so she doesn't have to go through what I did.
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- Ben (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:25pm
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  Step 3: Profit!
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- Wally (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 5:48pm
  
  Re: And we all know what Mike's Step 2 is! (New here? See below.)
  Ignore OOTB...he posed as one Mr. Applegate in an earlier article.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
jupiterkansas (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:33am

The White House will say the Librarian of Congress did his job and it's up to Congress to change the laws.

What else would you expect?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:47am

White House response:

Please bend over citizen.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 11:54am

IOW, we have an elected government that, instead of responding to the people, merely refers blame and responsibility onto unelected governing bodies.
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:43pm
  
  Re:
  This is a trend we see all over the world. In Denmark, a new law going into effect later this year will close for FOIA requests to internal communication in and between ministries, an unelected employee is taking the fall for a case where the 2 largest parties likely both have committed crimes, elections are getting digitized with civil experts screaming no or wait, there has been created a bare minimum of oversight over our three letter secrecy soups while they get every kind of DPI surveillance data delivered from ISPs and banks/government-citizen interactions and a register of lobbyists has been dropped for the nth time the last 10 years!
  
  Transparency is not increasing, but decreasing at the moment and the politicians are increasing the insulation between their world and the citizens. It is a disgrace, but it is broadly agreed on among politicians and therefore impossible to stop!
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Coogan (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:04pm

Only terrorists use unlocked cell phones. If you want to unlock your cell phone, you must also want to be a terrorist.

Terrorist.

yes, it's sarcasm!
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:22pm
  
  Re:
  100,000 terrorists signed the petition. Heck, lets just make it easy. Everyone is a terrorist. We need to pass more laws.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:47pm
    
    Re: Re:
    We need to reset our entire set of laws and start over with just the constitution and it's amendments.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - R.H. (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:47pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I agree with this in principle but I shudder to think about what certain lobbies would try to do if the laws of the United States were being rewritten from scratch.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:49pm
    
    Re: Re:
    with 100.000 terrorists, there may be something called acceptable losses and the three-letter soups and military can take actions as they see fit.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:22pm

Eh? Whassat?
'Ello? 'Ello? Can you hear me now? 'Ello... ?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:48pm

I'm more annoyed....
That people ignored me when I was shouting that this was happening. Blown off. Called 'tin foil hatty'.

I feel like Will Smith in Men in Black II: "Yo! People! We got a BUG in the ELECTRICAL SYSTEM!"

[shit ass stuff deployed]

"Yeah, now y'all runnin'! Now y'all- no, no, no, come on, sit down, sit down! It's only a 600 foot worm!"
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[citation needed or GTFO], 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:56pm

The real issue is in how the White House will respond, and they have an incredibly easy out: they just point out that the exemption process happens on a schedule, and that those who are concerned about this issue should file to have the Librarian of Congress reconsider in three years...

Or you know, they could just ignore it...
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[citation needed or GTFO], 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:56pm

The real issue is in how the White House will respond, and they have an incredibly easy out: they just point out that the exemption process happens on a schedule, and that those who are concerned about this issue should file to have the Librarian of Congress reconsider in three years...

Or you know, they could just ignore it...
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- [citation needed or GTFO], 21 Feb 2013 @ 12:57pm
  
  Re:
  I need to buy a new mouse that stops double-clicking...
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:04pm

Even though it has enough signatures to be considered in the White House, I don't think it stands a snowball's chance to pass. It was omitted from the DCMA list more than likely for a reason. And that reason, well, we can only speculate..but it's probably got something to do with the Telecom Industry putting money in the pockets of those we've elected to represent us. Speculation..but it makes sense.

Over 100,000 signatures is impressive, yes...but there's millions & millions & millions of people in the US, compared to these 100,000 or so signatures. That's a HUGE difference to take into consideration.
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- Jason Still (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:17pm
  
  Re:
  
  ... something to do with the Telecom Industry putting money in the pockets of those we've elected to represent us.
  
  I think you misspelled repress.
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Ben (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:34pm

Wrong emphasis
Rather than petitioning the WH to 'allow' us to unlock phones, I'd much rather petition for competency in the Librarian of Congress. As it is, this exemptions process is founded on a woefully poor understanding of technology (development and use) so I'd much rather challenge the LoC/WH to explain why this process is legitimate.
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R.H. (profile), 21 Feb 2013 @ 1:52pm

The Requirements and Limitations of Democracy
It is fortunate that so many people have decided to take action and actually involve themselves in the running of their government. However, this is only a beginning. We as a people need to continue being involved in our government or we will begin to discover the issues with democracy in action just like the Soviets discovered the inherent corruption that comes with Communism once you move from plans on paper to reality.

Democracy, even in the form of a republic requires an informed and motivated citizenry to keep it running properly. The problem in reality is that too large a portion of the American citizenry is apathetic or simply uninformed. I'm not sure how we can keep the entire adult population, or at least a large enough percentage to matter, informed and motivated enough to actually care what happens in our government. It pains me when I think about it since I can't come up with a solution that is actually plausible.

Now before I get flamed, I am not calling all those who disagree with me uninformed but, I must imagine that if we were actually more informed then maybe our elected and appointed officials wouldn't be able to do things like this so easily.
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