Smartphone "kill switch" signed into law in CA

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by CATO, Aug 26, 2014.


  1. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    One can only imagine the nefarious purposes the state could use this for. We are a very connected society these days with things like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. Shutting this method of communication down would force most people to rely on local news.

    Smartphone 'kill switch' becomes law in California

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/25/brown-oks-bills-on-kill-switch-obama-presidency/

    Smartphone 'kill switch' becomes law in California
    News10/KXTV-Sacramento1:48 a.m. EDT August 26, 2014

    A requirement that new smartphones be equipped with a kill switch in the event they are stolen was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown Monday.

    Senate Bill 962 directs smartphones manufacturers to equip their product with anti-theft technology that allows the owner to deactivate the device if it's stolen. How manufacturers meet the requirement is up to them.

    According to the National Consumers League, 1.6 million Americans had a handheld device stolen in 2012.

    The law applies to smartphones made on or after July 1, 2015, and sold in California after that date.

    Minnesota was the first state to sign a "kill-switch" bill into law.

    Google, Microsoft and Apple have already said they will install the feature into new versions of their phone operating systems, which means that by next year, new versions of operating systems on 97% of the phones used in the United States will have a kill switch.

    Kill switches that are already part of some operating systems are only partially effective, say some critics, because customers have to choose to set the feature. Many don't.

    The California bill takes the requirement a step further, making manufacturers prompt the owner of the phone to use the solution when they're setting up the phone. Customers who don't want to use it can opt out of it and disable it.
     
  2. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Hey I don't see that ever being abused...
     
    john316, fmhuff and oldawg like this.
  3. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    :rolleyes:
     
  4. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Oh, I like that... I can send a Message, and my stolen Phone Blows UP..... What a world, We live in..... Now, if I could do that with my Car....
     
    Brokor likes this.
  5. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    You mean you can't? I booby-trapped mine in college. Fuel pump was electric, with two hot leads. One while cranking, one in run. "Run" was cut and a switch installed under the driver's seat, and it would start, but die within a block, if the switch was open. It was stolen twice. Furthest distance before recovery was about half a mile.:)
    I flipped the switch, and drove it home.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2014
    AmericanRedoubt1776 and HK_User like this.
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    No, I want it just to be a Smok'en Hole in the Ground.....
     
    john316 likes this.
  7. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Mine was stolen in Hawaii. I had installed a SW Electric fuel pump and a mechanical shut off valve. Went out one morning, no car. Called Five O and told them it should be someplace near Ala Moana Center. I found it, it already had a parking ticket! Cops arrived and I explained my setup. They checked it out and made sure the ticket was deleated.
     
    AmericanRedoubt1776 and kellory like this.
  8. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Call it a defective fuel gauge sender....
     
  9. AmericanRedoubt1776

    AmericanRedoubt1776 American Redoubt: Idaho-Montana-Wyoming Site Supporter+

    Governor Uncle Jerry Moonbeam is discriminating against my dumb phone by not offering it a kill switch too like the smart ones get. That's no fair! :-(
    The Commieforniastan Nanny State is ignoring the needs of my poor lil ol' dumb phone.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2014
  10. fmhuff

    fmhuff Monkey+++

    Just my thoughts exactly. It's a commin' and bringing the whirlwind with it.
     
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