US Lawmakers Now Backing Mobile Phone Kill Switch Plan

A few days ago, we mention that plans for a smartphone kill switch were making their way through the state of California legislative process. The reasoning for a mobile phone kill switch is that stolen phones could be rendered useless if stolen. If a stolen phone can't be sold, lawmakers think that the theft of mobile devices would be curbed.

Mobile device theft is a huge problem and is one of the most common crimes in many parts of the country. The new push for smartphone kill switches started in California with state attempts to require all smartphones sold in the state to have the kill switch installed. If phone makers were forced to install the kill switch on phones for California that would likely mean the kill switch would be installed in phones sold all around the country.

The push for a mobile phone kill switch has now picked up steam in the US Senate. A group of Senators led by Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota has proposed the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act that would force kill switches on all smartphones sold in the US.

A mandatory kill switch was defeated before due to opposition from major carriers. People are falling on both sides of this issue. Some see the killing of the bill by carriers as being a way for the carrier to continue to make money from insurance premiums and replacement devices. Others see the plan for a mandatory kill switch on mobile devices as yet another way for the government to intrude on our lives. Some also fear that the remote kill switch system would be open to hacking and raises privacy issues. The new proposal in the US Senate will certainly face tough opposition.

SOURCE: Android Community