It's common practice for a mobile phone you purchase through a carrier like T-Mobile is going to be locked. That's just the way it is. In many European countries, cell carriers are required to unlock devices at the end of the contract.

No such laws exist in the US. However, that doesn't stop a California man for taking T-Mobile to court over locking his phone. Basically the affected party is seeking a court injunction preventing T-Mobile from collecting a $200 early termination fee. They are also looking to get T-Mobile to disclose their phones are locked, the affect those locks have, and force them to unlock phones.

T-Mobile is trying to hold up this lawsuit on a technicality. The customer agreement says you have to go through arbitration and you waive the right to sue us. What kind of <expletives deleted> reason is that? The California Supreme Court basically ignored the appeals from T-Mobile, allowing the case to go to trial.

Wired claims this lawsuit along with the iPhone lawsuit currently going on in California could change the relationship between mobile carrier and customer. While I am pessimistic about either suit's chances for success, I would be thrilled if the customer/carrier relationship got a little less lopsided as a result.

Via Wired