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Apple Continues to Fight Jailbreaking
February 14, 2009, 2:30 PM by ROB
Posted in SOFTWARE, MOBILE | 625 views
Apple is no stranger to legal controversy and the corporation is at it again—this time in response to an exemption to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA) proposed by the EFF that would allow iPhone users to legally jailbreak their phones. The proposed class states:
Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets
to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset. |
Apple's response:
| Apple is opposed to the proposed Class #1 exemption because it will destroy the technological protection of Apple’s key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone™ device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone, resulting in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects, adverse effects on the functioning of the device, and breach of contract. |
In a recent legal analysis published on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website, senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann (who prepared the proposed exemption) writes:
| If this sounds like FUD [Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt], that's because it is. One need only transpose Apple's arguments to the world of automobiles to recognize their absurdity. Sure, GM might tell us that, for our own safety, all servicing should be done by an authorized GM dealer using only genuine GM parts. Toyota might say that swapping your engine could reduce the reliability of your car. And Mazda could say that those who throw a supercharger on their Miatas frequently exceed the legal speed limit. |
Regardless of the U.S. Copyright Office's decision, the trends say that jailbreaking will continue. Cydia, the open-source distribution scheme for jailbroken iPhones, has upwards of 350,000 users as of October 2008. That number has surely grown since then. Apple has released a number of "bug fixing" updates to the phone, each time breaking the jailbreaking process. Each time, the iPhone Dev Team (the masterminds behind the jailbreaking process) have issued an updated mechanism to open the phone within days.
The question I pose to you is this: Should mobile phone companies be given full authority to lock their handsets? Looking at von Lohmann's analogy, would we expect auto makers to lock down the hoods of our cars?
Discuss.
» via xSellize
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