There are more than 10 million people who have jail broken their iPhones – soon they will be jailed in Canada

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, is about to put the Copyright Modernization Act through the Canadian Parliament.

Honorable Minister James Moore

If it passes, jail breaking your iPhone will be illegal in Canada, but legal in the United States.

This is not a boring issue. If you have children under 30, they will be classed as criminals since most of them do this on a regular basis.

There are 100 reasons to jailbreak an iPhone. If you own it, the US Library of Congress says it’s your property.

Minister Moore doesn’t want you to break the locks on your iPhone, PVR, DVD player or any device. Copyright bill to clamp down on digital lock-pickers

Michael Geist still thinks there is time to stop this if people raise a hue and cry – otherwise known as MP mail blitz.

Criminalization of young people

Let’s face it – most old people don’t get texting, YouTube and all the social media activities of young people. They don’t play online games or own an XBox 360, PlayStation or Wii. We may not understand, like or appreciate people under 30 or 35 but they aren’t bad.

Yet provisions in Bill C-11 will criminalize their behavior. They do break the locks on their iPhone, Android phones, on PlayStation games and other digital devices. It’s partly creativity and partially their need to control the electronics in their lives.

The digital locks provision of Bill C-11 won’t stop people from learning how to bypass digital locks, but it will criminalize the behavior. More young people will be charged with new crimes and lives will be ruined.

For what?  Who benefits?

You already own the software or device

It’s not smart in the age of innovation to lock away what people already own. For instance, you can rip a CD you own to your iPhone, iPad, or computer. After Bill C-11 passes, that will be illegal if the CD maker puts a digital lock on the CD. Or your DVD. Or any of the hardware and software you purchase with your hard earned money.

Want another copy? Double your cost and buy the other format.

Backups will be illegal. Lose the DVD? That’s tough.

Send Minister Moore an email and this video.

Or send him a postage free letter.

Honorable James Moore
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A6

Send an email to your own MP as well since the House of Commons must vote the bill into law.  Here’s how to find your MP.

Related story – Video Showcases The Many Perfectly Legitimate Reasons To Jailbreak A Device