Calif. governor signs smartphone 'kill switch' bill into law

State Sen. Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon introduced the California "kill switch" bill in February. Richard Nieva/CNET

California on Monday became the first state to require that antitheft security features come enabled by default for every smartphone sold in the state.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the so-called "kill switch" bill -- introduced in February by State Sen. Mark Leno and sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon -- on Monday, after it passed the state legislature earlier this month. A smartphone kill switch enables an owner to lock down a phone if it is stolen, rendering it inoperable. A spokesperson from Brown's office said the governor was not available for comment.

In May, Minnesota became the first state to pass a kill switch bill, but that law does not require the feature come turned on as the default setting, when a consumer initially sets up his or her new smartphone -- a distinction supporters of the California bill deem very important.

"Opt-in does not end the problem. Because it will not be ubiquitous," said Leno on the Senate floor in April, the first time the bill was presented. The idea is that if thieves expect the software to be enabled on all phones, they won't bother stealing them in the first place. After a heated debate, the legislation narrowly failed its first go-around but passed after a second try two weeks later.

"California has just put smartphone thieves on notice," Leno said Monday, in a statement.

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Smartphone 'kill-switch' bill headed to California governor

State Sen. Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon introducing the bill during a press conference in February. Richard Nieva/CNET

A bill that mandates antitheft technology to come pre-installed on all smartphones sold in California is headed to the governor after passing a final California Senate vote on Monday.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Mark Leno and sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, asks that device makers put so-called "kill-switch" technology on every smartphone, though users could choose to opt-out of the security services. The software lets users lock the phone if it is stolen, making it inoperable.

The bill passed with a 27 to 8 vote.

The proposed legislation, formally named SB962, addresses what government officials have called an "epidemic." One in 10 smartphone owners in the US has had a phone stolen, according to the mobile security firm Lookout. In 2013, more than 3 million Americans were the victims of smartphone theft -- nearly twice as many as the year before, according to Consumer Reports. On Gascon's home turf of San Francisco, more than 65 percent of robberies in 2013 involved a mobile device. The rate jumps up to more than 75 percent across the bay in Oakland.

"Our goal is to swiftly take the wind out of the sails of thieves who have made the theft of smartphones one of the most prevalent street crimes in California's biggest cities," said Leno, in a statement.

The kill-switch bill passed the California State Assembly last week. Introduced during a press conference in February by Leno and Gascon, the bill narrowly failed its first vote in the state Senate in April, but passed two weeks later in early May.

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