Digital Culture

It is a peculiar and controversial trend of the current, digital age that once a service or entertainment medium is digitized, it becomes subject to widespread public, unofficial manipulation. It has been proven, time and time again - most recently in the cellular phone and music industries - that no matter how hard global corporations try, they cannot completely commodify information to their benefit. People assert their freedom, because it is inalienably and undeniably theirs. They stand up and declare that they will not be passive recipients while a select elite dictate the dominant ideas, issues, and approaches of modern life.

That proclamation is implicit in current digital phenomena such as cellular phone unlocking. Cells phones are locked to a certain service provider by manufacturers. This has to do with a contract for which the end user is not responsible.

Though the companies may delight in the mutual profit of these deals, they must also recognize user freedom. They cannot stop the sale of versatile unlocked phones or phone unlocking services. Cellular phones are for use by real people, and real people cannot be bound by favors, deals and mergers they are not aware of.