The California Senate passed legislation on Thursday requiring mobile phones sold in the state to have a "kill switch" feature. Backed by the LAPD, the legislation hopes to curb smartphone robberies that often lead to violence.
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one of three reported theft cases in the United States includes stolen smartphones. Because of this, San Francisco Sen. Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon introduced a bill titled The Smartphone Theft Prevention Act in February for the "kill switch" feature to be added on devices.
The feature will enable smartphone owners to completely deactivate their gadget if it gets lost or stolen making the device inoperable. It is also designed to erase all personal information installed on the device. Users do not need to pay a fee to avail the feature.
"We have a crime wave sweeping our state. We are trying to keep our constituents safe on their streets and in their neighborhoods," said Sen. Leno before the voting began, as quoted by the L.A Times.
The bill was revised since the first proposal after it failed to pass the Senate in April. However, after revising the bill to exclude electronic tables and to delay the execution date, it finally received the approval. Effective January 2015, manufactured smartphones are required to have a kill switch feature.
The move gained positive results as Apple and Microsoft changed their stand and finally agreed to comply. On the other hand, five Democrats pulled back their anti-votes and decided to show support to the measure. Now that it passed 26 to 8, it is ready to reach the Assembly.
Some Republicans voted off on the bill because it included fines that could reach $2,500 against resellers of phones that are non-equipped with kill switches. They argued that several of these smartphones are non-US made and could land on California stores without prior confirmation of having the feature or not. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a group representing the international wireless carriers and network carriers, is also opposing the bill because they believe that the "kill switch" feature may bring additional risks to privacy and hackings.
