We have no way to hold the Librarian of Congress accountable for wildly unfair laws.
On January 26, 2013, the Librarian of Congress issued a ruling that made it illegal to unlock new phones.
Merely having the personal exception for the blind, dependent upon a triennial approval from the Librarian of Congress, does not solve the problem.
FORBES: Discussing a Post-SOPA Strategy - Cellphone Unlocking
All told, the response matches that of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which wrote a letter to the Librarian of Congress in support of extending the exemption last year.
Use of these technologies has to be approved for personal use every three years by the Librarian of Congress -- but even when approved -- developing, trafficking and selling the technologies is still illegal.
Merely temporarily reversing the decision of the Librarian of Congress and keeping the underlying technology still illegal, and the personal exception subject to periodic new approval would put us back in this boat every three years.
After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law under the DMCA (that's Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision.
Contrary to the NTIA's recommendation, the Librarian of Congress ruled that phones purchased after January of this year would no longer be exempted from the DMCA. The law gives the Librarian the authority to establish or eliminate exceptions -- and we respect that process.
ENGADGET: White House responds to petition: unlocking phones should be legalized
"This is a momentous occasion in the history of the library, " said Librarian of Congress James Billington.
This is the kind of impact the library was looking to preserve, "to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio heritage, " said Librarian of Congress James Billington in announcing the selections.
And if all those weren't enough, many ask-a-librarian services exist, often for free, including one run by the Library of Congress.
"It is certainly within the national interest to acquire this recorded collection, and all its accompanying materials, for custodial care, " said Librarian of Congress James H.
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