Installing alternative firmware in routers no longer violates international law

The Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have pushed for changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). As a result of their work, routers (akarouters ) have been added to the list of various exemptions that are not subject to DMCA restrictions.

Every three years a special committee meets at the Library of Congress and after public discussion decides to revise the list of exemptions and review the various situations to which the DMCA may not apply. This list is designed to guard against possible abuses and unwarranted restrictions that might be propagated under the guise of the DMCA.

Exceptions already approved for this year allow alternative firmware to be installed on routers to detect and validate possible copyleft license violations, including jailbreaks. This exemption gives all users the opportunity to extend the life of their network device beyond the support period set by the manufacturer. This can be done by installing alternative firmware such as the famous OpenWrt.

Source: gamingdeputy

Illustration: Andres Urena