In response to growing smartphone theft in California, Governor Jerry Brown signed a notable bill Monday requiring all smartphones sold in the state after July 1, 2015 to come equipped with a "kill switch."

The bill makes California the second state after Minnesota to pass such an anti-theft law.

"California has just put smartphone thieves on notice," said author of the bill Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco. "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. 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."

Senate bill 962, or SB 962, makes it so a smartphone could be paralyzed, preventing access to sensitive information or use, in the case of a robbery. It also takes into consideration some tricks hackers might try like downgrading the operating system. Owners will also be able to reactive their device if it is recovered and buyers can opt for a device without a kill switch.

Senator Mark Leno and sponsor San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón introduced SB 962 in February and California lawmakers agreed on a final draft to send to the Governor's office two weeks ago.

SB 962 is largely a reaction to the rising amount of smartphone-related crime. By rendering the devices associated with the crimes useless, policy makers are hoping to take away any profits.

Tech firms such as Google, Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and BlackBerry all initially opposed SB 962, but have since removed their opposition.

Smartphone crime doubled from 2012 to 2013 hitting 3.1 million incidents and accounts for 67 percent of theft in San Francisco. In nearby Oakland the number is even higher, hitting 75 percent. Since 2011, Los Angeles has seen a 30 percent increase in smartphone theft and San Diego was hit a 34 percent increase.

"We are on the verge of implementing regulations that will have tremendous benefits to public safety," said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón earlier this month.

"With the manufacturers who sell 97% of smartphones in the United States having removed their opposition, the remaining opponents are out of legitimate reasons to oppose this commonsense measure. We are on the eve of securing wireless consumers everywhere from the violent threat of theft."

Some are worried, however, that a kill switch could actually complicate matters and give law enforcement and hackers too much power over communication. In a letter of opposition to California Assemblymember Susan Bonilla, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) points to the 2011 San Francisco BART shooting incident. Transportation authorities in the city ended up severing wireless service during protests, prompting a change to California Public Utilities Code 7908.

"You can imagine a domestic violence situation or a stalking context where someone kills [a victim's] phone and prevents them from calling the police or reporting abuse," said EFF staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury. "It will not be a surprise when you see it being used this way."

A previous agreement among major tech firms and the Wireless Association did set aside provisions for anti-theft measures smartphone owners could download, but did not make it mandatory and has drawn criticism for being open to hackers.

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