House panel to take up cellphone unlocking bill

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing June 6 to consider legislation that would legalize cellphone unlocking, which allows consumers to switch carriers.

The hearing, which will be held by the subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, will consider the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which is sponsored by full committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The subcommittee has yet to announce the witnesses. Because of a Library of Congress decision last year, customers must obtain their carriers' permission to legally unlock their phones even after they have completed their contract. Goodlatte's bill, which is co-sponsored by subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC) and ranking member Mel Watt (D-NC), would overturn the library's decision but would not amend the underlying copyright law. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) have sponsored a more aggressive bill that would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to permanently legalize cellphone unlocking.