Jailbreaking cool according to Library of Congress

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The Library of Congress has turned a new page in the chapter of digital rights, announcing that people can now legally “jailbreak” their phones and install legally obtained software on them.
The process of jailbreaking refers to allowing third-party unsigned code to work on devices by unlocking the operating system and allowing the user root access. For instance, once jailbroken, iPhone users can download various extensions and themes previously unavailable through the App Store via unofficial installers such as Cydia.
The surprising new regulation was tacked on as an anti-circumvention exception to the US’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and states (in part):
“Persons who circumvent access controls in order to engage in noninfringing uses of works in these six classes will not be subject to the statutory prohibition against circumvention.”

Written in rather highfalutin legal mumbo jumbo by the Librarian of Congress himself, James H. Billington, the exception goes on to clarify that it means “computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.”
In other words, jailbreaking and rooting is cool by congress as long as you don’t steal the software. Of course, it is absolutely not cool with Apple, who has previously warned against such practices and which has put protection in place to try and prevent it.
Also, while Apple now can’t technically sue someone for jailbreaking in the classic sense of the word, you can be sure that Cupertino already has its legal beagles working away to find loopholes and circumstances which would still allow the firm to sue people who tried – like distributing/pirating its code, or installing its software “the wrong way.”
Of course, you can always rely on Apple for creativity and the first counterstrike by the firm appears to be the claim that jailbreaking could encourage cell tower terrorism. Yes, Apple is actually positing that people may try to modify their device’s baseband to hack cellphone towers, “rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data.”
Although, if you were going to nefariously bring down a cell tower, you would probably not be the type to wait for the Library of Congress to deem Jailbreaking legal.
It’s also important to note that the exception to the DMCA is on a purely individual and personal basis so distribution of any “technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof” which would help others root access controls is still illegal.
Looks like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) still has some lobbying to do.