SACRAMENTO – California’s landmark legislation requiring all new smartphones sold in California to come pre-equipped with kill switch technology takes effect today. SB 962, authored by Sen. Mark Leno and sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, prompts every consumer to enable a kill switch during the initial setup of a new smartphone. The bill became law on Jan. 1, but officially goes into effect today, ensuring that all smartphones sold in the state come with theft-deterrent technology.
“California has led the nation in protecting consumers against the epidemic of smartphone theft, and our efforts are already paying off,” said Sen. Leno, D-San Francisco. “Recent reports show that smartphone thefts are already on the decline as more new phones come equipped with kill switches. The incentive to steal smartphones, which had become a trigger for violent street crime in many of our largest cities, is rapidly dwindling.”
A Consumer Reports study from June shows that smartphone thefts declined more than 30% between 2013 and 2014. 2.1 million Americans were victims of smartphone theft last year, compared to 3.1 million American victims in 2013.
“For years consumers have been victimized because the wireless industry failed to safeguard its products. Today that changes,” said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. “As this technology is implemented ubiquitously, and as older phones are slowly phased out, I expect this epidemic to become a thing of the past.”
SB 962 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in August of last year. Since then, smartphone industry leaders have indicated that they would not sell California specific phones, meaning most phones sold in the U.S. will meet the standards set by California law, which requires consumers to actively opt-out of using a kill switch if they do not wish to utilize theft-deterrent technology.
