California bill introduced to mandate kill switches for mobile devices

[Redfairen]

A new California bill could force mobile smartphone and tablet makers to place a "kill switch" on their devices in order to prevent theft. 

According to The New York Times, Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is expected to introduce the bill Friday, which would require all smartphones and tablets sold in California to have a kill switch. 

Having a feature like this would make the smartphone or tablet unusable if it were stolen. In turn, Leno hopes that this will curb robberies of mobile devices, since they would be more difficult to sell that way.

The bill, which is sponsored by George Gascón --San Francisco’s district attorney -- would make it so phones sold in California on or after Jan. 1, 2015 are required to have kill switches. Those who fail to do so could face fines of up to $2,500 for each device sold.

"With robberies of smartphones reaching an all-time high, California cannot continue to stand by when a solution to the problem is readily available,” said Leno. “Today we are officially stepping in and requiring the cellphone industry to take the necessary steps to curb violent smartphone thefts and protect the safety of the very consumers they rely upon to support their businesses.”


http://www.dailytech.com/SF+Senator+Wants+to+Place+Kill+Switches+on+Smartphones+Tablets/article34288.htm

[ZombieHorde]

1. Hmmm...

Making it so all our phones and cameras can be turned off by a third party may not be ideal. I wonder if the gps could be used to kill all the phones at large protests, such as the Occupy protests, where people were filming and tweeting the violence of the state against peaceful protestors.

[dionysus]

6. i heard, though this in uncorroborated, that some devices, if stolen, the owner can use a phone

number or website to pull a kill switch and wipe the device or render it unusable.
big grain of salt though.

[davidpdx]

7. You can subscribe to services that will lock your phone if stolen

so it is already possible. Not sure about the mandate. Cell phone theft is a problem here in Korea as well. Everyone and their dog has a fancy cell phone.

[jmowreader]

2. That won't matter at all

Introducing ecoATM...a cell phone sales kiosk.

http://www.ecoatm.com

They claim to be able to catch criminals who sell through them because the machine requires you scan your driver's license, but how hard will it be for criminals to steal both the phone and the owner's wallet?

[bemildred]

3. I think I'll just skip the whole thing.

Call me a Luddite, I don't see the hassle as being worth what it costs.

[MillennialDem]

4. Most anti theft devices aren't worth the trouble

I helped a lady at my work fix her laptop and she had one of those finger scanners. What a pain in the ass that was to deal with.

I leave my car unlocked and will never buy/build a computer with anti theft crap on it. It's far more likely to lock you out or not start than to prevent theft.

[davidpdx]

8. I have the scanner thing on my computer and it's never functioned well

I think it's possible to disable it, but I've just never taken the time to do it.

[Arkana]

5. This is a little too "Big Brother" for me.

[Skip Intro]

9. For our own good, of course. I'm all for it. Here government,

have the power to cut my link to the outside world at your discretion - I'm just a doofy citizen who can't figure all this out, so please, force me by law and fine to submit to your intrusions.

and the sheeple go..."well, if it will help protect me..."

[juajen]

10. I have a code to open my phone.

It was taken in a store, but then left in a buggy I think because they didn't have the code.

Is that not sufficiant or is it easy to unlock by very smart people?

[Skip Intro]

11. I happen to know, because I sell cell phones

that Android phones can be reset to factory settings by bypassing that screen lock. It will erase whatever is stored on the phone, but the phone can then be used again, assuming the serial number (MEID, ESN, IMEI) hasn't landed on some "hot list." But even then, in some cases, the phone can be flashed to use on another carrier - Sprint to Verizon, for example, or a prepaid company with lower rates, like Page Plus.

iPhones are different.

Now, I'm sure the NSA, and various other alphabet agencies can bypass any lock you put on your phone, remotely, with the greatest of ease. Hell, they can turn your phone on and turn it into an eavesdropping device. And they do.