Jailbreaking, is it illegal

[jeinnor30]

Because of the line of proffession I am in, I am often asked whether or not Jailbreaking your iPhone / iPad etc is illegal, and I simply answer them NO, it is not.

So what exactly is Jailbreaking?

Jailbreaking is the process of "hacking" an iDevice to free it from Apple’s limitations. There are lots of benefits to having a jailbroken iDevice.

So is Jailbreaking Illegal?

In July of 2010, the United States government ruled that jailbreaking is legal and and does not violate copyright, as long as the process isn’t being carried out with the intention of circumventing copyright. So Apple cannot sue users who have jailbrAoken their iDevices. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris has however said that Apple won’t change its policy that voids iPhone warranties if a phone has been jailbroken. “It can violate the warranty and cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably,” she said.

So how do I Jailbreak my iDevice?

So some of you might be asking yourselves so how do I Jailbreak my iDevice. Well the important thing to know is what processor you are using as well as what iOS you are running. The best place I can refer you to is http://www.spiritjb.org/ there you will find all the relevant documentation you will need to jailbreak your device.

Using the correct jailbreak for your iDevice is very important. I recently came across someone whos friend tried to Jailbreak his iphone 4S and now when he switches his device on, he is left with a pineapple on his screen which means that his friend used the jailbreak for the iPhone 4 and not for the 4s. I was able to help him and get his iPhone 4s back to a working state, but it very important to ensure you know what iOS you have as well as Processor etc.

If you are scared to Jailbreak you iDevice or you have "bricked" your iDevice, there are people out there that will do it for a fee, I am sure there is someone closeby that can help you.

I hope that this has been a help.

[CorporatePunk]

Hi Jeinnor30,

As far as I am aware, jailbreaking your phone is legal in the US, which is what you are referring to. However, whatever the Americans rule over there in their cases, really has no effect on us South Africans in terms of law, except maybe in a comparative interest way to see how we can deal with similar matter of law here.

Since RICA came along, jailbreaking may well just be illegal since it actually makes it an offence to modify any cell phone's software. So I think technically, it is illegal to jailbreak an iphone.

Here's a writeup about it:
http://www.bitrepublic.co.za/2012/06...-south-africa/

But as always, the fact that something is illegal, doesn't mean anyone is going to bother to enforce the law, how are cops going to know the difference between a jailbroken iphone or not? Besides, I think law enforcement have bigger things to worry about.

[Elimentals]

Its illeagael in SA plain and simple thanx to ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS ACT. 2002

86. Unauthorised access to, interception of or interference with data

1. Subject to the Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act, 1992 (Act No. 127 of 1992), a person who intentionally accesses or intercepts any data without authority or permission to do so, is guilty of an offence. 86.
2. A person who intentionally and without authority to do so, interferes with data in a way which causes such data to be modified, destroyed or otherwise rendered ineffective, is guilty of an offence.
3. A person who unlawfully produces, sells, offers to sell, procures for use, designs, adapts for use, distributes or possesses any device, including a computer program or a component, which is designed primarily to overcome security measures for the protection of data, or performs any of those acts with regard to a password, access code or any other similar kind of data with the intent to unlawfully utilise such item to contravene this section, is guilty of' an offence.
4. A person who utilises any device or computer program mentioned in subsection (3) in order to unlawfully overcome security measures designed to protect such data or access thereto, is guilty of an offence.
5. A person who commits any act described in this section with the intent to interfere with access to an information system so as to constitute a denial, including a partial denial, of service to legitimate users is guilty of an offence

.

But seeing that no one has been taken to court I guess we can just ignore it.

[ld13]

Since RICA came along, jailbreaking may well just be illegal since it actually makes it an offence to modify any cell phone's software. So I think technically, it is illegal to jailbreak an iphone.

It all depends on how you read and interpret it imo. I could argue that it is illegal ito RICA to cut your standard sim down to a micro sim. But that would be crazy. So I think, technically yes, it might be illegal to do a lot of stuff with your phone ... but the law does not concern itself with trifles - de minimis non curat lex.

[Lycanthrope]

Its illeagael in SA plain and simple thanx to ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS ACT. 2002

What happened there?

Regardless, that bit of law is open to interpretation and, considering the section its under, seems to be about using a device or program to deny or intercept service to legitimate users i.e. hacking devices to gain access to private data and information.

[Maddmatt]

A person who utilises any device or computer program mentioned in subsection (3) in order to unlawfully overcome security measures designed to protect such data or access thereto, is guilty of an offence.

This does not describe jailbreaking. You are not accessing data you are not authorised to by jailbreaking your own phone, since being your phone any data on it is generally yours and if it isn't then it is still irrelevant to jailbreaking.

I see nothing there that concerns jailbreaking.

As for this:

54 (1) Any person who, intentionally and unlawfully, in any manner-

(a) modifies, tampers with, alters, reconfigures or interferes with, any telecommunication equipment, including a cellular phone and a SIM- card, or any part thereof;

(b) reverse engineers, decompiles, disassembles or interferes with, the software installed on any telecommunication equipment, including a cellular phone and a SIM-card, by the manufacturer thereof; or

(c) allows any other person to perform any of the acts referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)

Looks like that does indeed cover jailbreaking (as well as rooting and flashing custom firmware on Android/other devices).
However, does it apply to devices you own?
Also it doesn't say what constitutes "unlawfully". So if it's your own phone, is it 'unlawful'? I don't think so.

[Lycanthrope]

Looks like that does indeed cover jailbreaking (as well as rooting and flashing custom firmware on Android/other devices).
However, does it apply to devices you own?
Also it doesn't say what constitutes "unlawfully". So if it's your own phone, is it 'unlawful'? I don't think so.

Yeah, I think even that is debatable and boils down to what, as you say, constitutes "unlawful" use. My guess is that it essentially implies altering a phone's IMEI (to bypass blacklisting) and acts like cloning SIM cards.

Personal use/modification/alteration/configuration would still be protected.

Especially since, if you take this law completely literally, it would be "unlawful" to so much as change the date on your phone

[Maddmatt]

Personal use/modification/alteration/configuration would still be protected.

Especially since, if you take this law completely literally, it would be "unlawful" to so much as change the date on your phone

Yea. It seems like the people who write these laws are lacking in intelligence and/or common sense. I doubt it would be possible to even get someone charged for jailbreaking or installing custom firmware on their phone.
They would have to be using it to re-activate a stolen phone, jam signals, illegally intercept other peoples calls or something.

[gregmcc]

I don't think anyone in SA have even been arrested for jailbreaking a device.

[bekdik]

So if I:
Replace my preinstalled Windows OS with Linux, I'm breaking the law.
Replace my Windows XP with Windows 7, I'm breaking the law.
Replace the firmware in my ISP locked modem with an unlocked version, I'm breaking the law.

[Elimentals]

So if I:
Replace my preinstalled Windows OS with Linux, I'm breaking the law.
Replace my Windows XP with Windows 7, I'm breaking the law.
Replace the firmware in my ISP locked modem with an unlocked version, I'm breaking the law.

Depends if you have to break electronic protection to do it.

[sand_man]

So if I:
Replace my preinstalled Windows OS with Linux, I'm breaking the law.
Replace my Windows XP with Windows 7, I'm breaking the law.
Replace the firmware in my ISP locked modem with an unlocked version, I'm breaking the law.

Only on the modem if it were using a RICAed sim, surely?

[Ockie]

Depends if you have to break electronic protection to do it.

So in other words NO ONE should get laptops or PC's with that new planned Secure Boot crap?

[DVTeixera]

So in other words NO ONE should get laptops or PC's with that new planned Secure Boot crap?

Thought about that.

[Elimentals]

So in other words NO ONE should get laptops or PC's with that new planned Secure Boot crap?

You don't need to break anything to turn off secure boot, just go into the bios and turn it off, so no issues here. Its not about the protection or security, its how you disable it.

For example in the case of root. If the OEM gives you a way to do it its legal, Example Motorola, HTC and other have legal means to turn it off via the official websites BUT If you run illegal software (See hacked code) then it becomes illegal. The US included a fair use clause in the DMCA, SA do not have said clause in our copyright laws.

Again I would stress not worry about it, the only time SA police ever acted was when people charged people to do it for them, see Xbox and PS3 protection.

TL;DR
Manufacturer give you permission, its cool. (You where given a key to open something)
You don't have permission from the manufacturer, its not cool. (Breaking the lock)