SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly today passed legislation that requires all smartphones sold in California to come pre-equipped with theft-deterring technological solutions to render the device useless if stolen. Senate Bill 962, authored by Senator Mark Leno and sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, addresses the growing epidemic of smartphone theft. It requires that all new devices sold in the state beginning next July to be pre-equipped with a theft-deterrent solution, also known as a kill switch. If it is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, it would be the first state law of its kind requiring smartphones to come pre-equipped with a kill switch.
“Today’s vote on the Assembly floor is a huge victory for California’s smartphone consumers and mobile users across the nation who are regularly victimized for their cell phones,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “This legislation will literally stop smartphone thieves in their tracks by ensuring all new smartphones sold in California come pre-enabled with theft-deterrent technology. With law enforcement agencies reporting a drop in thefts of phones that already provide kill switches to their customers, it is clear that this is an idea whose time has come.”
SB 962 is universally supported by statewide law enforcement groups, including the California District Attorneys Association, California Police Chiefs Association and California Sheriffs Association. In addition, wireless industry companies including Apple, AT&T, Blackberry, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Verizon have all removed their opposition to the bill.
“We are on the verge of implementing regulations that will have tremendous benefits to public safety,” said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. “With the manufacturers who sell 97% of smartphones in the United States having removed their opposition, the remaining opponents are out of legitimate reasons to oppose this commonsense measure. We are on the eve of securing wireless consumers everywhere from the violent threat of theft.”
Consumer Reports recently revealed that smartphone crime has doubled nationwide in the last year. About 3.1 million devices were stolen in 2013, up from 1.6 million in 2012. Based on those numbers, a Creighton University study estimates that mandatory kill switches on smartphones would save consumers more than $3 billion.
The epidemic of smartphone thefts is most prevalent in California’s largest cities. More than 65 percent of all robberies in San Francisco involve the theft of a mobile device, a number that goes up to 75 percent in the East Bay city of Oakland. Los Angeles also has a significant smartphone robbery problem, with reported thefts increasing 30 percent since 2011.
“Robberies and burglaries not only deprive victims of their property, but also put them in harm’s way,” said Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. “The bottom line is that by helping reduce these crimes, this bill is going to save lives, and I’m proud that Oakland, our Bay Area colleagues and our leaders in Sacramento have done so much to champion it.”
The Wireless Association (CTIA) announced early this year that it would “voluntarily” implement theft-deterrent technology on new phones starting in 2015, an inadequate solution because the technology would not be pre-equipped on phones. Consumers would have to find, download and activate the solution themselves, leaving thieves an open door to continue to target all smartphone users. Under SB 962, retailers will be prohibited from selling smart phones in California unless they come pre-equipped with theft-deterring technology. Consumers would have the opportunity to opt-out of using this technology. Companies that fail to comply with the bill would be subject to penalty.
Sen. Leno’s legislation returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote on amendments taken in the Assembly before heading to Gov. Brown’s desk.
