UPDATE, MARCH 6: The push to legalize cellphone unlocking is gaining momentum. 

In the last couple of days, bipartisan members of Congress have promised to fix the issue. Sen. Ron Wyden has already introduced a bill to legalize unlocking, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Jason Chaffetz have promised to introduce similar legislation. 

Meanwhile, Reps. Darrell Issa and Jared Polis and Sen. Patrick Leahy have all said they'd support such a bill. 

The Free Press Action Fund is working hard to make sure that the right fix gets made — and that the public has a voice in this conversation. This is the time to urge your member of Congress to support the call to free our phones.     

Good news: The White House thinks we should be able to use our mobile devices as we wish.

That freedom came under threat late last year, when the Librarian of Congress decided to enforce a rule making cellphone unlocking illegal, and punishable by crazy fines and years in jail. So cellphone unlocking must be this terrible thing, right?

No. It involves making changes to your phone so it can work on any mobile network. 

More than 100,000 people told the White House that cellphone unlocking should be legal. And the Obama administration just said it agrees:

"Consumers should be able to unlock their cellphones without risking criminal or other penalties ... if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network."

The White House wants Congress to move ahead and legalize cellphone unlocking. 

We agree. So let’s tell Congress to write a bill — without delay.  We need open devices and networks to communicate and innovate — and that means we need to truly own our cellphones. 

We have a real chance to free our phones. Tell Congress to write a bill today.

Want to get involved in the fight for our mobile rights? Check out the National Conference for Media Reform, which is headed to Denver this April! This one-of-a-kind event features great speakers, hands-on workshops, a film festival, an art gallery ... even an old-school soapbox.