[grandpa]

I couldn't figure out from the article what exactly it is that's illegal. Which of these situations cause me to break the law as an American?

1. I travel to Canada, unlock my cellphone there where it is legal, and bring it back to the U.S.

2. My Canadian nephew unlocks my phone while I am not looking.

3. I unlock my phone, but then never turn it on so it never connects to a carrier.

4. I buy a phone in New York, then move to Canada never to return. On arrival in Canada, I unlock my phone.

If it's really true that "unlocking cellphones is illegal in the U.S.", then only 3 should be illegal.

[darkarmani]

It sounds like you are crossing state lines (and international lines) for the purpose of committing a felony. I'm half joking. I think you can get fined for smoking a cuban cigar overseas, so I think you need to hand the phone off to a Canadian and let them unlock it.

[saurik]

There is further discussion about this started from a comment I made elsewhere on this article; the replies seem to clarify that only specific laws (including, apparently, this cigar issue you bring up, looking into it; that is apparently new as of 2004) have extra-territorial application.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5111405

[darkarmani]

Thanks for the link. Those are some surprising insights.