Prosecutors Push for 'Kill Switch' to Prevent Smartphone Thefts.
Source: nyt/reuters
In a push to curb cellphone thefts, prosecutors for New York state and the city of San Francisco said on Wednesday they plan to meet with industry representatives to urge them to install switches to disable stolen smartphones.
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said they will meet on June 13 with representatives of the four largest smartphone manufacturers.
They said they will ask the industry to place "kill switches" on mobile devices to render them inoperable when stolen, eliminating any incentive for theft.
"With 1.6 million Americans falling victim to smartphone theft in 2012, this has become a national epidemic," Gascon said in a statement. "Unlike other types of crimes, smartphone theft can be eradicated with a simple technological solution."
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/06/05/technology/05reuters-usa-phones-killswitch.html?hp
The Magistrate
(95,262 posts)Electrical stuff is hardly my strong suit, but the young seem awfully nimble at it nowadays....
Response to elleng (Original post)
groundloop This message was self-deleted by its author.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)to render them completely inoperative if you're behind on your cell phone bill. You won't even be able to play games on the thing, or look up friends' numbers.
It already works that way with 'anti-theft' immobilizers on newer cars. Get behind in your payments, they'll stop your car, and tell the repo man exactly where to find you.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)smartphones in the case of social unrest.
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)Downwinder
(12,869 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)Works like a champ.
tblue
(16,350 posts)Also cars.
quadrature
(2,049 posts)nt
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)marble falls
(57,405 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)0rganism
(23,978 posts)Rewrite:
They said they will ask the industry to place "kill switches" on mobile devices to detonate small explosive charges sufficient to cause serious head wounds to anyone using the stolen phone, eliminating any incentive for theft.