iPhone 6 (Photo : Reuters)
State laws that will make it mandatory for all mobile phones sold in the United States to have "kill switches" are slow in coming with the July deadline only six months away.
As of this writing, only Minnesota and California have passed laws requiring mobile phones makers to install a kill switch, also called an anti-theft measure, in mobile phones sold in these states. Nevada and New Jersey are considering this same legislation.
The slow pace stands in contrast to the high hopes created in April 2014 when CTIA-The Wireless Association, the industry trade group representing the international wireless telecom industry, entered into a voluntary agreement with major mobile manufacturers, providers and operating system makers to include kill switches in mobile phones made in the USA.
Signatories to the agreement that will protect consumers from mobile phone theft were Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Huawei, HTC, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Motorola Mobility and Asurion.
The signatories agreed that starting July 2015, mobile phones manufactured for retail sale in the USA will have a kill switch either pre-installed or downloadable. The kill switch will be provided free of charge.
Once activated after a theft, the kill switch will protect the owner of a stolen mobile phone by remotely erasing personal information such as contacts and emails from the stolen mobile phone. It will also make the mobile phone inoperable to unauthorized users.
The kill switch will also prevent reactivation of the device without the authorized owner's permission. It will prevent thieves from restoring the device to factory settings.
Owners of mobile phones made before July 2015 can choose from a list of apps provided by CTIA to locate, lock or disable lost or stolen devices.
Google, Microsoft and Apple have said they'll install kill switches into new versions of their phone operating systems, said USA Today. This means that this year, new smartphones running operating systems on 97 percent of the phones used in the U.S. will have a kill switch.
Supporters of the kill switch system contend it's necessary to combat a surge in mobile phone thefts and will protect consumers from having their personal information stolen.
The National Consumers League said 1.6 million Americans had a handheld device stolen in 2012, according to Reuters.
