Mandate for 'kill switches' in smartphones fails in Calif. Senate

[Newsjock]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Despite support from law enforcement including LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, a measure that would require smartphones to have enabled "kill switches" failed in a close vote Thursday in the California Senate.

With the telecommunications industry, including Microsoft, lobbying hard against the bill, it failed on a 19-17 vote, two votes short of the tally needed for passage. It was granted a chance to come up for another vote in the future.

... “This is an issue we need to address,” said Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who introduced the bill. “By not doing so, the crime is only going to continue to escalate.”

But amid heavy lobbying against the measure, a group of Democrats, including Sens. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens, Norma Torres of Pomona and Jim Beall of San Jose, joined most of the Republicans in voting down the bill.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-mandate-for-kill-switches-in-smart-phones-fails-in-cal-senate-20140424,0,202971.story

[ErikJ]

1. Because smart phone theft means higher sales.

Big biz wins again.

[SoapBox]

2. BIG fucking money wins the politicians again.

Oh! ...now I get it.

[Matariki]

3. Is this really about phone theft?

Or is it about crowd control?

[AllyCat]

4. I'm with you on this Matariki.

I worry about law enforcement and others being able to just stop everyone's phones in a protest, or stop someone who is not posting things they like, or whatever the cause they want to stop. Yeah, phone theft would be great to stop, but I just don't think bricked phones will stop thieves. What makes me think this is about phone theft is who was fighting the bill (computer/phone sellers). But the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of the OP was "then someone could stop a whole group's phones from working with the touch of a button".

[KansDem]

6. I thought that was what the "kill switch" was for...

..."then someone could stop a whole group's phones from working with the touch of a button".

Would that also stop the ability to take photos or shoot videos with these phones? If so, that would be a police department's dream come true...

[Kelvin Mace]

7. Ah, there's the rub

All technology and technology solution are dual-edged. The kill switch can be used to genuinely bring phone theft to screaming halt. Or they can be abused by the government as you suggest.

So do we or don't we?

On the third hand, the government can shut your phone down now if it wants to. If a "disturbance" took place the government can shut down the cell towers in the area, the sledge hammer approach; or they could simply monitor the meta data passing through the towers and start jamming select lines they suspect of "unauthorized" activity, while keeping a white list official numbers that would go through.

[Matariki]

9. An app that only allows the owner to shut the phone down.

In fact my phone has that already.

When law enforcement is pushing for the ability to have a kill switch on phones, well I don't trust their motives. Not with how often they've been caught on camera phone acting badly.

I also find it interesting that there is more interest in a phone kill switch than gun control. Apparently bringing guns to a protest (if you are white and conservative) is a-okay. But phones with recording abilities, oh noes!

[Kelvin Mace]

10. All very valid points

thanks for the food for thought.

[blackspade]

11. +1000

[passiveporcupine]

5. according to the article

It's about the theft insurance that is now sold by the phone makers/sellers. If the phones have kill switches, the insurance sales will plummet. How much is this insurance, and is it something you need to pay to renew each year?

I don't have a phone, so I don't know. But apparently it's a big revenue source.

[DeSwiss]

8. Fuck this Police State fanboy.

- This asshole is a ''Democrat'' like DiFi is. In the worst way.......

K&R



''But it was alright, everything was alright, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.'' ~George Orwell, 1984