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Though it wasn't the first hack into Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) celebrated iPhone, New Jersey teenager George Hotz's unlocking of the device last week has unleashed a storm of publicity, discussion and speculation.
Hotz -- now a freshman at the Rochester Institute of Technology -- not only succeeded in decoupling his iPhone from its exclusive AT&T (NYSE: T) service, preferring to use it on T-Mobile instead -- but he published how he did it via his blog and a video on YouTube.
In exchange for his efforts and his unlocked phone, Hotz's new boss, Terry Daidone, the founder of CertiCell, gave him a new car and three brand-new iPhones. CertiCell sells cell phone parts and reconditioned used cell phone batteries.
More Keys to Come
In the wake of Hotz's achievement last week, several other unlocking efforts have been announced. While Hotz's effort involved tinkering with both hardware and software, iphonesimfree.com, for example, claims to be on the verge of releasing the first software-only hack into the iPhone.
Hotz's technique required soldering and technical sophistication that would likely be prohibitive to many, but a software-only approach is expected to find much broader adoption.
Apple and AT&T have both declined to comment.
A Legal Complaint
Meanwhile, a New York man has reportedly filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for what he charges was its failure to adequately disclose the fact that AT&T is the sole wireless carrier for the iPhone.
Herbert Kliegerman, 68, owner of three iPhones, reportedly says Apple's actions violate a New York State consumer protection law prohibiting deceptive acts or practices, according to the New York Sun.
His complaint demands that Apple stop selling the phones because it doesn't disclose the fact that the iPhone is locked against outside service plans. He also wants to require Apple to provide unlock codes for other service plans to customers, and to adequately disclose the fees incurred by using the device internationally, according to the paper.
DMCA Protection?
At the time he announced his hack, 17-year-old Hotz said his unlock was protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The true legality, however, is far from clear.
"It is tough to keep the genie in the bottle, especially one desired as much as the iPhone is," Raymond Van Dyke, a technology attorney in Washington, told MacNewsWorld.
"It is not surprising that yet another techie has deciphered the codes, keyed the locks and otherwise unleashed the mysteries within the latest bottle," Van Dyke said. "It is inevitable, but that does not, however, make it right. The DMCA and other statutes against decryption could have been violated by these actions, which although seemingly innocent could have serious economic consequences."
There is, nevertheless, an exception to the DMCA that could cover cell phone hacking.
No Helping Others
"The copyright office ruled that if you want to unlock a phone, you can do it without violating copyright," Jonathan Kramer, principal attorney at the Kramer Telecom Law Firm, told MacNewsWorld.
A distinction is made, though, between unlocking a phone for yourself and helping others do it, Kramer explained.
"The key point is that if you can figure out how to do it, have at it," he said. "However -- and this is the issue around Hotz -- publishing instructions on how to do it falls under a different provision of the DMCA, which says you can't help others violate copyright."
Helping others unlock a cell phone is not an area in which there's much legal guidance so far, Kramer noted, since it's new and still fairly open to interpretation.
An Unsuitable Defendant
So, while Hotz's trading of his unlocked iPhone for a car and more phones is not likely to present a legal problem, the fact that he showed others how to unlock their phones might, Kramer said.
Will Hotz get sued? "I think he is ripe to be sued, because there's a principle in law that if you don't protect your rights, you may effectively waive them," Kramer explained. "I think Apple and AT&T will want to make sure people don't play around with their software."
On the other hand, Hotz's tender age may work to his advantage, Kramer added. "The one thing that may help Hotz is that he is not a publicly appealing bad guy," Kramer said.
If given a choice, attorneys tend to pick defendants who are not socially acceptable, he added. So, "it may be that AT&T and Apple wait for a more clear-cut bad guy, and take out their vengeance on that person."
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