Whether you are jail breaking iPhone or rooting android phone, you are changing the restrictions the cellular carrier or manufacturer set in your device. Unfortunately, unlocking, jail breaking and rooting are supposed to be illegal in some countries.
Today, we are going to discuss this issue in the light of European, US and Canadian laws to check whether it is legal or illegal.
Disclaimer: We are not legal experts and this is not a legal advice. The purpose of this article is to share legal nature of the issue.
Legal and illegal Rooting
Some android phone makers allow you to root out your device with their consent and Google’s Nexus smartphones is the worth citing example. When you are officially allowed for rooting, it is totally legal. Besides, Apple does not allow for jail breaking however it is illegal.
USA
In the United States of America, rooting, jail breaking or unlocking is illegal. Actually, in 1999 Congress had passed Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and under this act it is illegal to “circumvent” digital rights management schemes. Few years back, unlocking cell phones for using other carriers was legal but now it’s illegal to unlock your phone without seeking permission from your carrier.
Besides, at this moment, it is legal to root or jailbreak your cell phone for one reason. Yes, the reason is to get access to some applications which demand rooting or jail breaking. Otherwise, it is illegal to jail break your device.
Remember, jail breaking iPad is a crime and should not be used.
Canada
In 2012, the government of Canada had passed Copyright Modernization Act. This act says tempering and breaking digital locks is illegal but there are some exemptions. Take for the granted, jailing breaking or unlocking is allowed for unlocking cell phones, security, interoperability, privacy, and encryption research. In simple words, you can jail break or root out your cell phone just for the software purpose. Apart from this, it is totally illegal to jail break or root out your device whether you are owner of the device or not.
European Union
In European countries this act falls under the Computer Programs Directive. When you read this directive, you would come to know that it is totally illegal to jail break or root out your device. But it has granted exemption for interoperability. Besides, it is mentioned in the directive that whosoever intends to jail break or root out -his device or any other device for any reason not cited in exemptions-is violating the copy rights.