Kill Switch Bill Becomes Law Following Signing From California Governor Jerry Brown

This likely isn’t the first that you’ve heard of the cellphone kill switch bill, and it likely won’t be the last. That’s because there are many more states that may take a look at the bill and decide to put into motion the passing of a bill of their own along the same lines. The bill was introduced by California state senator Mark Leno and San Francisco’s District Attorney George Gascon, and the two of them have been pushing on this bill since February of this year, urging cell phone makers to start building the kill switch into future devices. Today marks the day of the first state in the U.S pass this bill that requires all smartphones sold in California after July of 2015 to carry the kill switch, whether you like it or not, meaning that the kill switch is mandatory.

Yes that’s right, as of now the law in California state has been passed, which means that future devices around the middle of summer next year will start to carry this technology inside of it. What does that mean for consumers? Essentially phones that you buy from carriers will soon start to carry the kill switch inside, a technology proposed by Leno and Gascon be manufactured into new devices in an effort to thwart the rising theft over smartphones in the areas of Oakland and other cities of California. The kill switch will effectively make it possible for owners of stolen or lost devices to shut down the phone so it isn’t usable by outside and unknown parties that don’t have permission, rendering the device useless.

It seems like a good idea in theory, but of course the bill didn’t go completely without a hitch as it was met with some opposition that it would in the end, only cause the consumer to have to incur a higher cost based off of the requirement for this new technology. Whether you agree with the kill switch tech inside of future devices or not, the fact remains that the bill has now become a law, so expect this feature to be part of your purchases from mid to late summer of next year and going forward. At least in California, although now with this latest detail other states will surely want to take a look into a bill/law of their own. Minnesota has a similar law, although the kill switch is not mandatory in that state but rather something that consumers can opt in to if they so choose.

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