@Natey
A.) Rooting isn't illegal
B.) They already track people who tether without a plan and will send C&D's to those individuals long before they consider taking any of their customers to court.
C.) Going after the "ring leaders" of rooting is complete nonsense:
-Protected by our first amendment right.
-The people who provide information about rooting and promote the benefits of it, like myself, are not in violation of anything nor can we be held legally accountable for others decision to modify their device.
-Rooting isn't illegal.
-You can tether without root using apps like PDAnet.
A much more logical scenario is that they start sending out C&D's to people who tether without a plan. Then, if they violate again, an extra tethering fee will be added to the bill. And if they really want to, they can just lose you as a customer and cancel your service. Taking a bunch of paying customers to small claims court without first sending out any notices, warnings or C&D's is highly unlikely.
People have been modifying android devices from the beginning, this isn't news to the service providers. It only recently became a problem when they realized that their present infrastructure could no longer support the immense data usage. Rather than invest in building more towers, they are trying to address the primary problem, which is :
- A portion of their customer base uses data excessively without paying for a tethering plan : so C&D's, fees, and service cancelation.
-NOT rooting : they are not going to try and hold people, like me who advocate root, legally accountable for exercising our first amendment right and indirectly influencing people to root. The information is legal, it was published to the internet legally, and it's regarding a subject that the supreme court justice deemed legal.
Calling us "ring leaders", like this is some sort of criminal organization, is not only offensive and disrespectful to all the hard working devs, but it is also the very essence of the mentality which has been holding back open source development. Furthermore this type of outlook is what legitimizes the service providers push towards closed and restricted platforms.
We are not criminals, we are developers and technology enthusiasts. The tethering without a plan issue is unfortunately something that has been directly associated with this group and hurts our image. However, with effective policies and possible revisions to the pricing schemes, I believe that there could be a middle ground where both parties benefit.
I am going to be following the unlocked Sony project closely and trying to speak with their representatives. That initiative marks the beginning of corporate recognition and response to the legitimate needs of the developer community. Building off that already approved corporate plan, I want to show that not only can our devices be freed from these system level restrictions in a responsible and efficient manner, but that through effective marketing strategies and the implementation of a consolated recovery mode + market-esk ROM manager, that the development community can be embraced for profitable gains. I believe that if the procedures were simplified a little and the in built factory reset actually restored the device back to stock, then root could effectively be marketed as a competitive advantage. I believe that if done correctly, sales could be increased, the development of the android platform itself would speed up tremendously, and that many iOS customers would be enticed to make the switch to android.
The rest is just paper work and market research to prove weather or not my beliefs are possible. Sony has already stepped up to the plate, who's next?
{{ WugFresh }}
, AT&T's superior attorneys have defined it: 
let alone get a new phone and try to root it. 