U.S. BILL REQUIRES "KILL SWITCH" IN ALL SMART PHONES!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

U.S. BILL REQUIRES "KILL SWITCH" IN ALL SMART PHONES!

US bill requires smart phone 'kill switch'

AAP
December 20, 2013 6:15AM

TWO US officials have announced plans to introduce legislation requiring smart phones to have a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost devices inoperable.
California State Senator Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced on Thursday that the bill they believe will be the first of its kind in the United States will be formally introduced in January.
US law enforcement officials have been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smart phone theft across the country.
"One of the top catalysts for street crime in many California cities is smart phone theft, and these crimes are becoming increasingly violent," Leno said.
"We cannot continue to ignore our ability to utilise existing technology to stop cellphone thieves in their tracks..."
Almost one in three US robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Lost and stolen mobile devices - mostly smart phones - cost consumers more than $US30 billion ($A33.98 billion) last year, according to a study.

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Calif. lawmaker to introduce smartphone 'kill switch' bill

Sen. Mark Leno wants to make the security feature -- aimed at bricking stolen smartphones -- the law.

by Donna Tam

December 19, 2013 5:02 PM PST

(Credit: CNET)

A California senator plans to introduce a new bill that would require smartphones to enable a "kill switch," a security feature that would make a phone inoperable if it's stolen.
Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) announced Thursday that he will introduce the bill at the start of the 2014 legislative session in January, with the support of San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón.
"One of the top catalysts for street crime in many California cities is smartphone theft, and these crimes are becoming increasingly violent," Leno said in a press release. "We cannot continue to ignore our ability to utilize existing technology to stop cell phone thieves in their tracks. It is time to act on this serious public safety threat to our communities."

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