California Senate Passes the Smartphone Kill Switch Bill

A California bill that mandates smartphone companies to only sell devices preloaded with antitheft software has been cleared.

The move to equip smartphone with the feature hit the headlines back in April when most manufactures committed to have it as mandatory by 2015. 

Last month, Apple, Samsung, Google, HTC, Nokia and Microsoft all agreed to make smartphones harder to steal, and now this technology has been made into a California effective July.

From the 25th of July, all smartphones that are sold in California must come with security measures to protect the device, and Apple announced that their devices already includes the technology.

“Apple phones and tablets can be protected with applications that allow the owner to track the location of the device and remotely set a passcode or erase all personal data if stolen.”

It is not clear as yet on whether Apple devices’ current security is enough to meet the new laws, although we suspect that Apple will update their devices to conform with the new rules.

Currently, the majority of stolen smartphones can be wiped, have a new IMEI number installed, and can then be sold as a completely new device.

A complete kill switch solution will put an end to these practices, and hopefully this would have a significant impact in reducing the amount of smartphones that are stolen.

Source: App Advice