The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Friday to give mobile-phone users the right to 'unlock' their devices and use them on competitors' wireless networks, something that is now technically illegal. President Barack Obama said in a statement that he looked forward to signing the bill into law. "The bill congress passed today is another step toward giving ordinary Americans more flexibility and choice, so that they can find a cell phone carrier that meets their needs and their budget," Obama said. The lawmaking follows a 2012 ruling by the Library of Congress, the minder of U.S. copyright law, that effectively made phone unlocking illegal, even after the consumer completed the contract with its wireless carrier.

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