With Smartphone Theft on the Rise, It’s Time to Protect Yourself - San Jose Mercury News
The cell phone industry has taken some steps to address the problem. Wireless carriers have created a database of stolen phones and have promised not to allow any phones in the database to be used on their networks. They’ve also pledged to install anti-theft software on all smartphones by July of next year.
But consumer advocates and law-enforcement officials have complained that those measures have been inadequate. Many stolen phones are resold overseas and activated on carriers that haven’t signed on to the U.S. carriers’ database. And the anti-theft software in place on phones now isn’t turned on by default and may not be even under the carriers’ new proposal.
So lawmakers have been stepping in. This week, the California Senate passed a bill that would require all smartphones sold in the state to have a “kill switch” that would allow users to remotely wipe and disable their phones. The legislation would require the feature to be turned on by default.
More: Wolverton: With Smartphone Theft on the Rise, It’s Time to Protect Yourself - San Jose Mercury News