In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s hard to imagine a regulation designed to protect consumers that instead fuels billions of dollars in international crime. Yet, that’s the reality of the Federal Communications Commission’s nearly 2-decade-old phone unlocking rule imposed on Verizon as part of its C-Block spectrum license.
This rule, adopted in 2007, requires Verizon to automatically unlock customers’ phones after 60 days for use on other networks. While it may seem benign on paper, this regulation has become a tool exploited by sophisticated criminal enterprises globally.
Organized crime rings exploit the unlocking mandate to traffic stolen or fraudulently obtained subsidized phones internationally. These criminals acquire heavily discounted U.S. phones illicitly and resell them abroad for huge profits. This illicit trade costs Verizon and its customers hundreds of millions of dollars yearly and drains law enforcement resources that could be better spent tackling more pressing crimes.
Read the full article here
Roslyn Layton, PhD is a leading international expert on technology policy. She is Executive Vice President of Strand Consult, an independent consultancy and a Visiting Researcher at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Steve Pociask is with the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.