California bill directs mobile hardware makers to incorporate the way to disable stolen communications devices. Will privacy concerns be addressed?

California State Senator Mark Leno on Friday introduced a bill that, if passed, would require makers of mobile communications devices sold within the state after Jan. 1, 2015 to incorporate technology that could render such devices inoperable when lost or stolen.

The mandated technology, commonly called a “kill switch,” might be implemented in software or hardware, but ought to be ready to survive a factory reset. To conform, companies may need to do additional engineering work on their mobile devices — factory resets typically erase all data by reformatting storage media and can not be established to address exceptions. The desired fine for the absence of a kill switch ranges from $500 to $2,500 per violation.

The bill stipulates that the physical action essential to disable the kill switch may only be taken by the rightful owner of the device or an individual designated by the landlord; the mobile carrier might not achieve this, but presumably could with the owner’s permission. The mobile carrier also won’t encourage the disabling of the kill switch.

The kill switch must “render inoperable” the subsequent features: “the flexibility to apply the device for voice communications and the power to connect with the net, including the facility to access and use mobile software applications generally called ‘apps.'”

[Provide yourself with protection against phone thieves. Read 10 Defenses Against Smartphone Theft.]

This wording leaves some ambiguity: A PIN-protected lock screen appears to fulfill the bill’s requirements since the bill limits access and use but doesn’t demand the shutdown of software (the termination of processes). Many apps continue to run within the background and access the net even if they don’t seem to be getting used by the device owner.

At a similar time, the bill’s unqualified voice communications cutoff requirement appears to conflict with the Federal Communications Commission’s rule that wireless phones need to be able to making 911 calls whether the caller has a mobile service plan.

Leno and San Francisco district attorney George Gascón announced their intent to propose a kill switch requirement last December, citing an “alarming rate” of cell phone thefts nationwide. They cite FCC figures indicating that smartphone thefts account for 30% to 40% of all robberies nationwide. In San Francisco, that figure is claimed to be greater than 50%.

Smartphone theft and the general public questions of safety that accompany it have galvanized lawmakers and police officers across the country. Last summer, Gascón joined Big apple State attorney general Eric Schneiderman to launch Secure Our Smartphones (SOS), a nationwide initiative to encourage phone makers to integrate anti-theft technology. And last month US Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she intends to introduce similar federal legislation within the coming weeks.

Mobile carriers have rejected requires a kill switch. CTIA, a trade group for the wireless industry, says it’d be too easy for hackers to forge kill switch commands, thereby shutting down mobile communication services for authorities, emergency responders, or other officials. Gascon, however, reportedly has email evidence that mobile carriers are resisting the decision for kill switches to maintain the billions of greenbacks they make annually from selling theft insurance to their customers.

Leno’s bill states that, in keeping with industry publications, “the four largest providers of economic mobile radio services made an estimated $7.8 billion dollars from theft and loss insurance products in 2013.”

Carrier motives aside, a central authority-mandated anti-theft regime raises provocative questions on the boundaries of property ownership and privacy. As a way to be effective, this kill switch couldn’t be easily disabled by switching a tool off or into airplane mode. Accordingly, any individual carrying an always-on device becomes always trackable.

In addition, the explanation for placing kill switches in phones also applies to cars, the theft of which, in line with the FBI, cost $4.3 billion in losses nationwide in 2011. Though that’s far lower than the $30 billion in estimated US cellphone losses during 2012, this actual variety of digital restriction management (DRM) seems destined to spread as more devices get connected to the net.

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Thomas Claburn have been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications similar to New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and tv, having earned a not particularly useful … View Full Bio

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