California today failed to pass legislation that would have required cellphone makers to add a kill switch to devices sold in the state.
The bill was proposed by California State Sen. Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon. The men hoped the bill would eventually curb smartphone theft, which they say runs rampant in many cities. According to Gascon, 50% of all thefts in the city of San Francisco involve a smartphone or tablet. Despite the loss, consumers will eventually earn the protections sought by Leno and Gascon.
The CTIA Wireless Association recently pledged to add baseline security features to smartphones that will allow consumers to remotely lock, wipe, find, and recover their smartphones. The CTIA‘s program won’t go into effect until the middle of 2015.
