Minnesota Approves Smartphone Anti-Theft Bill; Industry Pledge Thwarts Measures in Other States
Despite a wireless industry voluntary commitment to equip smartphones with the capability of anti-theft features (CD April 17 p10), the Minnesota Legislature approved a bill, 44-19, Friday requiring that devices come equipped with a “kill switch” rendering them inoperable if they're stolen or lost. A similar California bill easily passed the Senate Thursday and is headed for the Assembly (CD May 9 p21).
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The industry pledge has either killed or stalled similar bills in three other states, sponsors of the measures said. Illinois Democratic Sen. Toi Hutchinson told us through a spokesman Friday she won’t pursue her SB-3539 (http://bit.ly/SIVdnD), because the Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment organized by CTIA “goes far enough.” A spokesman for Rhode Island Sen. Dominick Ruggerio, sponsor of S-2897 (http://bit.ly/1kNnzmS), said the Democrat didn’t plan to ask for committee hearings after the companies made the pledge (CD May 8 p26). New York SB-6850 (http://bit.ly/1iz9R5D) hasn’t been heard in the Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection, and the sponsor, Democratic Sen. Tony Avella, acknowledged the pledge has made it harder to gather support.
CTIA has argued legislation is unnecessary given voluntary steps. A spokeswoman pointed Friday to a fact sheet on the organization’s website (http://bit.ly/1qn1uUG). In addition to taking this year’s pledge, carriers in November completed a stolen phones database to report and track all stolen 3G and 4G/LTE phones in the U.S, the fact sheet said. The carriers check to see if a device is lost or stolen and deny service if it has been. CTIA said the system needs time to work. Kill switches could pose a public safety hazard because hackers could figure out how to turn off phones, including those of law enforcement, in a certain area as part of a cyberterrorist attack, the fact sheet said.
Laws Necessary, Proponents Say
Industry lobbyists talked up the voluntary pledge in what Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Rep. Joe Atkins, sponsor of House File-1952 (http://bit.ly/1j4o2FQ), called “overwhelming lobbying,” in which industry groups “had a lot of feet on the ground. ... When CTIA flies in their top people, you know they're concerned.” An “explosion” of smartphone-related crimes spurred the bill, Atkins said. “It seemed like almost every day or every other day there was a violent crime involving smartphone theft, especially around the University of Minnesota or downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.” This “is Minnesota, for gosh sakes,” said Atkins. “I can’t imagine what’s going on elsewhere."
Atkins praised the industry pledge, but said, “When my 17-year-old, who I trust, says she'll be home at a certain hour, I still stay up and check.” Minnesota Assistant Senate Majority Leader Katie Sieben, sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, Senate File-1740 (http://bit.ly/1jaELkR), said that despite the pledge, it was important to send a message that “as a state, Minnesota thinks this is important for you to do.” Sieben, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, said the bills also weaken the incentive to steal a smartphone by requiring that businesses like pawnshops demand proof of ownership before buying a smartphone. The House bill was approved Thursday, followed by the Senate bill the next day. Both sponsors expect Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Gov. Mark Dayton to sign the measure. His spokesman didn’t return a phone call.
The Minnesota bill requires smartphones sold in the state by July 2015 to come equipped with anti-theft features or allow one to be downloaded for free. California Senate Bill 962 (http://bit.ly/1i0TKOj) requires the devices come with the theft-deterring feature already operational. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon responded to the industry pledge in April (CD April 17 p10), saying the feature should be enabled by default on all devices. “Effectively, you're never going to have high enough adoption rates if it’s opt-in as opposed to opt-out,” said a Gascon spokesman Friday. “Thieves can’t tell which phones have the solutions enabled and which ones do not."
New York’s Avella called the industry pledge argument “bogus. .... Every time an industry says it’s doing something voluntarily, I cringe. If you're willing to do it voluntarily, why would you be opposed to it being the law?” He said he’s still hopeful of passing the measure -- which would require smartphones sold after Jan. 1, 2015, have anti-theft technology enabled -- by the end of the legislative session at the end of June.
The Rhode Island bill would have also required smartphones to come with the feature enabled. The Illinois measure would have required smartphones to come equipped with the capability to render that smartphone inoperable if the phone is lost or stolen, and would prohibit companies from charging an additional fee to activate the feature.