'Kill Switch' Law Could Take Life Out of Smartphone Theft
To address mobile device theft, a new law mandates that all new smartphones and tablets manufactured after July 1, 2015, and sold in California must be equipped with a default "kill switch." That technology would render devices inoperable to unauthorized users and require the owner's permission to be reactivated.
"The first time you turn on a smartphone it's going to prompt you to register your device and therefore enable the technology by providing a username and password. The technology ensures anyone attempting to re-register a stolen device on a wireless carrier will need the rightful owner's credentials for the device to operate, credentials a thief will not have," said Maxwell Szabo, legislative affairs and policy manager at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, which sponsored the bill last year as mobile technology related thefts accounted for 50 percent of the city's robberies. (Nationally, the FCC estimatesthat smartphone-related robberies comprise nearly 30 to 40 percent of all robberies in major cities.)
The law, SB 962 by Sen. Mark Leno, went into effect last week and is the first of its kind to be passed in California. Only Minnesota beat California to the punch with its own kill switch law, passed last May. But Minnesota's bill differs from California's in that it does not require that "kill switches" are activated by default; consumers instead must turn them on. California's bill, rather, requires the switch to be enabled by default and allows consumers to opt-out.
Current kill switch technology allows users to "opt in," reducing the incentive for consumers to participate in the service, according to a report published by the Office of the New York State Attorney General in tandem with the Offices of the San Francisco District Attorney.
"You cannot rely on consumers to seek out technology, download, install it, and turn it on. If you add requirements, fewer people will have technology on their phone enabled," Szabo told KCET. Underground market prices for stolen devices can go from a couple hundred dollars domestically to thousands of dollars overseas, Szabo said. "If you make the phone so there's no value, we will remove the incentive to steal the device."
Although there are mobile applications like "Find My iPhone," there's a good portion of users who don't enable the technology because many simply don't know it exists, Szabo added.
Apple launched its "Find My iPhone" application in 2009. The feature allows customers to remotely create a unique passcode or completely remove all personal data. The app also includes Activation Lock, a feature that prevents others from activating mobile devices if stolen.
Major retailers like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, among others, will need to equip phones with "kill switches." Retailers who don't comply will be fined $500 to $2500 per device, according to Szabo.
For the Record: We have replaced the quote attributed to Maxwell Szabo in the second paragraph to add depth and clarity to our story.
