United States: US president Barack Obama's signing of the
Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act has been hailed as 'a
victory not only for recyclers, but consumers and the environment' by the US
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).
Previously, electronics manufacturers and telecommunication
carriers wielded the power of copyright to control access to information
necessary to unlock, refurbish and resell used technological devices. The new
law restores the legal right for recyclers and refurbishers to bulk unlock used
cell phones for refurbishment and resale.