Apple Insider – by Mikey Campbell
After being passed by the California Senate two weeks ago, the new kill switch measure calls on smartphone makers to offer a remote disablement function that activates upon initial device setup. The law is set to take effect by July 2015.
Introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in February, the kill switch initiative looks to thwart a growing smartphone theft “epidemic” by building in security features that allow users to remotely disable their device when stolen or lost. Other states have forwarded similar legislation, though California is the first to place responsibility on manufacturers.
Apple’s iPhone will be one of the many products affected by the new law, though the company already incorporates a remote locking mechanism in iOS with Find My iPhone. The system relies on an app connected to Apple’s iCloud service, which when enabled lets users remotely track, lock, disable and wipe an iOS device. Further, Activation Lock prevents thieves from working around Find My iPhone’s protocols by requiring credentials before signing out of iCloud or performing a device reset.
On the federal level, a proposed Smartphone Theft Prevention Act was introduced to Congress in February and would require all cellphones sold in the U.S. to be equipped with a free-to-use kill switch mechanism.
The cellphone industry is also proposing its own measures like the CTIA’s “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment,” which Apple signed on to in April. Google, HTC, Huawei, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and all five major U.S. cellular providers have pledged support for the initiative.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/08/25/california-governor-signs-kill-switch-bill-into-law
“Introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in February, the kill switch initiative looks to thwart a growing smartphone theft “epidemic” by building in security features that allow users to remotely disable their device when stolen or lost. Other states have forwarded similar legislation, though California is the first to place responsibility on manufacturers.”
Bullshit! There’s no “theft epidemic”. There’s only a “Police state epidemic”. This law is so our treasonous government can shut down your phones if they need to or if they are being videotaped/live-streamed and recorded by we the people, especially during martial law situations.
Don’t you just love how the Commies switch everything (their problems) back onto us.
Expect them to push this to be made into a Federal law for all states to follow. There’s no way that they will just allow it for only one state. It would be a waste of time and money.
And this is why I don’t nor will I ever have a stupidphone. I mean smartphone.
The maker of the phone already stated in this article it has a tracking GPS mechanism if your phone is lost or stolen. But our government thinks we are SO STUPID it just runs with the spin that we all need a shut off switch. It’s so obvious that when the Department of Homeland Security rolls into to a town (like Ferguson) that a special Humvee will shoot out the “kill switch” carrier wave disabling all phones….especially the recording part of the phone. In Ferguson they already did this. Telephones and computers were disabled and there was a garbled sound. Now with a kill switch added to all new phones it will be much easier. Simply a few strokes of the key board and all phones cramp out.
Yep, they just want to make it legal with no exceptions. When the moment comes that they need to declare martial law on an area, it will save them a lot of time, money, hassle and legal disputes, despite being clearly unconstitutional.
Whatever.
I’m sticking with my dumbphone (flip).
get an Android based fone and install a custom rom.
BUT NOT A SAMSUNG!
samsung uses different models in the u.s. to the rest of the world – i dont trust that!
go with HTC mabye.
There isn’t a week that goes by I’m not happy I left that state.