Bill would require 'kill switch' for smartphones

Two California officials have announced plans to introduce legislation requiring smartphones to have a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost devices inoperable.

State Sen Mark Leno (D-CA) and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced that the bill they believe will be the first of its kind in the United States will be formally introduced in January at the start of the 2014 legislative session. State Sen Leno joins AG Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement officials nationwide who have been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country. "One of the top catalysts for street crime in many California cities is smartphone theft, and these crimes are becoming increasingly violent," Sen Leno said. "We cannot continue to ignore our ability to utilize existing technology to stop cellphone thieves in their tracks. It is time to act on this serious public safety threat to our communities." Almost 1 in 3 US robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices -- mostly smartphones -- cost consumers more than $30 billion in 2012, according to a study cited by Schneiderman in June. In San Francisco alone, more than 50 percent of all robberies involve the theft of a mobile device, and in Los Angeles mobile phone thefts are up almost 12 percent in 2012, the San Francisco DA's office said.