Senators proposed federal legislation to add a "kill switch" on all kinds of mobile phones to protect them once stolen.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one of three reported theft cases in the United States includes stolen smartphones. Because of this, New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement authorities insist that smartphone manufacturers should create kill switches to fight increasing smartphone theft cases in the country.
In order to curb smartphone theft in the U.S., San Francisco Senator Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon introduced a bill on Feb. 7 that orders the inclusion of "kill switch" in all phones.
The bill, which is titled "The Smartphone Theft Prevention Act," is being led by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. The idea of it is to enable smartphone owners to completely deactivate their gadget through a "kill switch" if it gets lost or stolen.
"Kill switch" is a security feature that will render a phone inoperable once lost or stolen. The feature is also designed to erase all personal information installed on phones. "Kill switch" is free for everyone.
"Cell phone theft has become a big business for thieves looking to cash in on these devices and any valuable information they contain, costing consumers more than $30 billion every year and endangering countless theft victims. This legislation will help eliminate the incentives for criminals to target smartphones by empowering victims to take steps to keep their information private; protect their identity and finances; and render the phone inoperable to the thieves," said Klobuchar in a statement to CNET.
However, no matter how noble their deed was, lawmakers were still struggling against Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a group representing the international wireless carriers, and network carriers because they believe that the "kill switch" feature may bring additional risks with regards to privacy and hackings.
