The future of mobile technology, privacy

Recent changes in cell phone and mobile technology rules could alter the future of the technology.

On The Daily Circuit, we look at two developments:

1. Cell phone consumers will soon have the freedom to "unlock" their cell phones, under legislation President Obama plans to sign.

   From Politico:

   The cellphone unlocking bill will "make it easier for consumers to switch from one provider to another, improving competition in the wireless market," Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Laura Moy said in a statement. "It will improve the availability of free and low-cost secondhand phones for consumers who cannot afford to purchase new devices, and it will keep millions of devices out of landfills."

3. Earlier this year The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that police must get a search warrant to examine the contents of someone's cell phone.

   From USA Today:

   Unlike cases decided by narrow 5-4 margins or those in which justices differed over the reasoning, Chief Justice John Roberts' cellphone opinion was notable for "the emphatic, emphatic message from the court that digital is different," says Jeffrey Fisher, the Stanford University law professor who successfully argued one of the two cellphone cases, Riley v. California.

We also examine what important decisions Congress and the courts still haven't made.