It is now illegal for U.S. customers to unlock phones to enable them to work on different networks. “The U.S. Copyright Office is no longer granting unlocking an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA makes it illegal to ‘circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access’ to copyrighted material, in this case software embedded in phones that controls carrier access,” explains Wired.

However, no major changes are anticipated for consumers. Even before unlocking was exempt, carriers never made it a habit to sue consumers who did it. And they don’t plan to now either, according to the article.

Historically, the exemptions applied to individuals only and not enterprises. Because of that, there have been hundreds of lawsuits filed against “unlocking enterprises” over the years.

“Still, the changeover worries Mitch Stoltz, a copyright lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. That’s because now there’s nothing preventing the carriers from suing individuals and abandoning the practice of unlocking mobile phones for their customers,” writes Wired.

“People will no longer have this solid shield created by the Copyright Office in the event they do get sued over this,” he added.

“The carriers’ position has always been, it’s never been about individual consumers. Individual consumers have never been the target of any of the lawsuits or enforcement proceedings or investigations,” said James Baldinger, an attorney for TracFone and other carriers. “They are concerned about traffickers that steal subsidies and in the end increase the cost of wireless for consumers across the United States.”