California governor Jerry Brown signed a new law on Monday requiring all smartphones sold in the state to have a Kill Switch. The Kill Switch lets users lock down their smartphone remotely as well as delete their data, thereby making the device useless to thieves should it get stolen.
The Kill Switch bill was proposed earlier this year by State Sen. Mark Leno and supported by the district attorney of San Francisco George Gascon. The new law aims to address the growing concern about theft involving smartphones.
Leno said in a statement quoted by Time, "California has just put smartphone thieves on notice. Starting next year, all smartphones sold in California, and most likely every other state in the union, will come equipped with theft deterrent technology when they purchase new phones."
The law mandates that all smartphones sold in California after July 1, 2015 should have the Kill Switch enabled by default. Rather than making it available as a feature and giving users the choice to use it or not, the law now makes the anti-theft technology standard on all smartphones sold in the area.
CNet reports the statistics by Lookout regarding mobile phone theft. The security company said that 3 million Americans fell victim to smartphone theft in 2013; 65 percent of robberies in San Francisco and 75 percent in Oakland involved mobile devices.
"Our efforts will effectively wipe out the incentive to steal smartphones and curb this crime of convenience, which is fueling street crime and violence within our communities," Sen. Mark Leno said, the bill's co-author.
