Thread: KILL SWITCH: Bill Passes Allowing Police To Shut Off ALL Cell Phones … Remotely

Bad Idea: California Legislature Passes Bill To Mandate Mobile Phone Kill Switches

from the very-bad-idea dept


We've explained a few times now why the idea of mandatory kill switches for mobile phones is a really bad idea and a slippery slope to abuse. So, of course, the California legislature has passed a bill mandating it, introduced by California State Senator Mark Leno and sponsored by SF District Attorney George Gascon. While end users could "opt-out," how many people do you think will actually make that decision?

The reasoning behind this bill seems sound: a kill switch makes stealing phones less valuable, thereby decreasing phone theft. But, the mandate is dangerous for a number of reasons. If individuals want to use a kill switch there are plenty of third party apps they can get to do that themselves. But much scarier is how such kill switches will undoubtedly be abused. Having a single technology that can brick a ton of phones will be a very tempting target for hackers. And, it will probably be even more tempting for law enforcement for a variety of reasons. Someone videotaped the police doing something bad? Instead of having to go confiscate the phone, why not just brick it from afar? This seems like yet another bill pushed with good intentions that risks some very dangerous consequences.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...switches.shtml





H George Tavakoli originally shared:


CA Governor Signs “KILL SWITCH” Bill Into Law Allowing Police To Shut Off ALL Cell Phones … Remotely

Well, it’s official Following a drawn-out Senate voting process, California governor Jerry Brown has signed his state’s smartphone Kill Switch bill into law. (please feel free to click on his name which will lead you to his Facebook page; send him a thank you for being a traitor)

Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring disabling “Kill Switches” on new smartphones, his office announced Monday, August 25th.

All phones sold in the State of California will be mandated to this integrate controversial “Kill Switch” technology.

Police and others would have the ability to shut off cell phones anytime they wanted under the bill, privacy experts say.

Senate Bill (SB) 962 requires manufacturers to add a “Kill Switch” to cell phones that would let authorities turn the device off remotely. The stated goal of the bill is to allow owners of smartphones to “kill” their phone if it’s stolen, but privacy experts are sending a warning that the bill’s language could be easily twisted. They believe that the bill needed additional language in order to more specific.

“If you give law enforcement a tool that can be abused, you’ll have an instance of asking for forgiveness rather than permission,” Jack Laperruque, an expert on privacy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told The Hill. Laperruque believes authorities could use the “Kill Switch” to shut down communications during protests or incidents of civil unrest such as the riots in Ferguson, Missouri.

Many protesters use smartphones to coordinate their actions during demonstrations. Another example of abuse would be for police to prevent bystanders – such as citizen or mainstream journalists — from posting pictures or videos of police actions on the Internet. Cops could use the “Kill Switch” to stop people from alerting the media or their lawyers of police activity of misconduct.

“This could effectively be co-opted to disrupt protests,” Laperruque said.

In Ferguson, police at times demanded that citizens and journalists turn off their cell phones. Under this bill SB 962, police would have had the power to do it by themselves, critics say. (source)

This is what Tech Dirt had to say:

“We’ve explained a few times now why the idea of mandatory kill switches for mobile phones is a really bad idea and a slippery slope to abuse.”

“The reasoning behind this bill seems sound: a kill switch makes stealing phones less valuable, thereby decreasing phone theft. But, the mandate is dangerous for a number of reasons. If individuals want to use a kill switch there are plenty of third party apps they can get to do that themselves. But much scarier is how such kill switches will undoubtedly be abused. Having a single technology that can brick a ton of phones will be a very tempting target for hackers. And, it will probably be even more tempting for law enforcement for a variety of reasons. Someone videotaped the police doing something bad? Instead of having to go confiscate the phone, why not just brick it from afar? This seems like yet another bill pushed with good intentions that risks some very dangerous consequences.”

The bill’s sponsor, State Senator. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), said:

“This is the first bill of its kind in the country. I think as any number of issues here in California, when we act it becomes the de facto way business is done across the country. Minnesota passed a bill before ours, but it’s opt-in. That will not make it a UNIVERSAL deterrent.” (click on his name and it will take you directly to his Facebook page; send him a thank you for being a traitor)

SB 962 will go into effect in July 2015. (just in time before we might see another false flag operation, or collapse of the US Petro-dollar, or the global economic reset, or any other psychological operation (PSYOP) that these psychopaths have planned to destroy America!)

Since most major brand manufactures have already embraced the technology, one has to wonder what the real intent of signing this bill into law? Of course, it’s being sold under the guise of anti-theft protection, so it’s a guarantee that the masses won’t even blink an eyelash over this very dangerous bill’s passage. Unfortunately most Americans are too propagated and brainwashed; hence they still subscribe to the old saying:

“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

California police will now have the ability to practically do whatever they want and should there be someone with a smart phone attempting to film any police brutality, the “Kill Switch” can immediately disable the evidence, and no one will ever know the truth of what really happened.

Sources:

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/25/665...#storylink=cpy

http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/25/c...h-becomes-law/

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2014/0...ones-remotely/

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...switches.shtml





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