The US Library of Congress has released a series of exemptions after their review of the laws which govern digital copywrite. Exceptions to the Digital Millenium Copywrite Act are reviewed every three years and renewed or added to provision 1201. This year, in addition to keeping exceptions around smartphones, US Library of Congress has added tablets and smart TVs to their list of things OK to jailbreak.
The list of things it’s still illegal to jailbreak includes e-readers, handheld gaming devices, desktops and laptops.
New changes to the provision also allow exceptions for people who want to circumvent copywrite control that requires authentication with an online server. Cases are limited to games that are legally obtained and where the authentication server is no longer online. They’ve also added provisions, in light of the VW scandal, which allows people to hack their cars.
Everything added to the exception list in 2012, including the ability to unlock or jailbreak your smartphone, were carried forward again for the next review cycle. These exceptions are in place for the next 36 months, three years, and will be reviewed again in 2018 as they were this year.