California Bill Would Require Antitheft Technology for Cellphones

A smartphone is sleek, compact and valuable, which makes it a perfect target for a thief. Californian lawmakers want to require cellphone companies to fix that problem.

State Senator Mark Leno (D-CA) is expected to introduce legislation requiring all smartphones and tablets sold in the state to include a so-called “kill switch” that would render a smartphone unusable after it was stolen, which would make it difficult for a thief to sell the device. The bill would require phones sold in California on or after Jan. 1, 2015, to include the antitheft solution. Companies that sold phones without kill switches would be subject to fines of up to $2,500 for each device sold. If passed, the legislation would most likely push smartphone makers to add kill switches in all their devices in the country, because it would be inefficient for manufacturers to make cellphones meant to be sold only in California.