June 29, 2007 12:13 PM

Will Steve Jobs Unlock the iPhone?

This week on ActForChange we're running an online petition calling on Steve Jobs at Apple to unlock the iPhone for use on other GSM networks. We got a lot of responses from our subscribers, many asking why in the world we're focusing on this particular topic when there are so many other important issues out there.

It's quite a valid point; other actions we've worked on recently have a lot more to do with saving our democracy -- and our planet. See, for example (and please take action on) -- our call to impeach Alberto Gonzales; our call for the House to pass better mileage standards, our call for the Senate to pass green energy legislation, our reminder to Congress that Bush cannot unilaterally declare war on Iran, our call to impeach Dick Cheney, and our ongoing efforts to restore the fundamental constitutional principle of habeas corpus.

But the questions of consumer choice -- and Steve Jobs' decision to lock the iPhone exclusively to a wireless carrier whose parent corporation actively cooperated with the National Security Agency to illegally wiretap millions of us, and is working very hard to stifle the important concept of net neutrality -- are in fact important questions to us.

So we were heartened to see that Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Mossberg asked Steve Jobs in an interview yesterday, "Why does the iPhone only work with a single carrier, AT&T?" He also asked Jobs if iPhone owners would ever be allowed to use other U.S. carriers — and Jobs conveniently ducked the question. (Read more about it here.)

What do you think? (And there's more commentary in Justin's post just down the screen a bit...)