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

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

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 a bill passed by California’s state legislature, privacy experts say.

after-finding-out-that-phone-companies-will-be-installing-a-kill-switch-

Senate Bill (SB) 962 would require 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 a bill such as SB 962, police would have had the power to do it by themselves, critics say.

SEE RELATED: FLASHBACK: Obama Signs Anti-Protest Trespass Bill, H.R. 347 – Fascism in Force

Designed to Combat Smartphone Theft?

Supporters of the bill say critics simply are wrong.

“This legislation addresses the violent, global epidemic of smartphone theft,” Maz Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, said of SB 962. Szabo’s boss supports the bill and says it will remove incentives for smartphone theft.

However, most smartphones already have adequate anti-theft measures, including kill switch “apps” that can be activated by their owners, Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told state legislators. EFF believes that makes SB 962 unnecessary.
“Currently, smartphones can only be deactivated with the owner’s permission.”

“But SB 962 is not explicit about who can activate such a switch,”

“And more critically, the solution will be available for others to exploit as well, including malicious actors or law enforcement.”

Phone purchasers would have the ability to deactivate the “Kill Switch” under SB 962, but they would have to specifically request it. Fakhoury believes that many owners would know nothing about the option and leave themselves vulnerable to the “Kill Switch.”

Bill Is In Governor’s Hands

SB 962’s fate is now in the hands of California Governor Jerry Brown.

Major smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and Microsoft initially opposed SB 962, but later dropped their opposition. Privacy advocates and some technology groups are actively encouraging Brown to veto it.

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.”

SB 962 would go into effect in July 2015 if Brown signs it. (just in time before the collapse of the US Petro-dollar, and the global economic reset!)

Here is the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Mark Leno’s Facebook page. Please be sure to let him know how you feel about losing your constitutional rights. Thanks.







Mark Leno

August 11

Our kill switch bill is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.


Like · Comment

• Anna Damiani, Antonio Velasco, Sean Patrick Connelly and 64 others like this.
  
  
  
  
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  Roberto-Juan Gonzalez Yay
  August 11 at 3:13pm
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Beth Ochsner Hurray and thank you!
  August 11 at 4:12pm
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Bill Elias And shame on corporate America for not just doing this willingly.
  August 12 at 2:27pm
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Mark Townsend Thanks, Mark!
  August 12 at 3:06pm
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Herrera Izack Phones already have this feature. Why does this need to be law? http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2701 Android https://support.google.com/a/answer/173390?hl=en windows phone http://betanews.com/.../how-to-find-lock-ring-and-wipe.../ IF COSUMERS WANT THIS FEATURE THEY WILL BUY A PHONE WITH THIS FEATURE. WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE LAW?iCloud: Erase your device
  support.apple.comUse Find My iPhone to delete all the information on your lost iOS device or Mac computer remotely.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  August 12 at 11:20pm · 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Herrera Izack Bill Elias They already have the feature buid into smartphones. What am I missing here? Something seems fishy here.
  August 12 at 11:20pm · 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Cyndie Kalina It needs to be a law so that they can silence us with the flick of a switch. https://www.techdirt.com/.../bad-idea-california...Bad Idea: California Legislature Passes Bill To Mandate Mobile Phone Kill Switches | Techdirt
  www.techdirt.comWe've explained a few times now why the idea of mandatory kill switches for mobi... See More
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  August 16 at 3:20pm
  
  
  https://www.facebook.com/Mark.Leno.CA
  
  
  
  
  
  

The Kill Switch allows the owner to kill the phone if it's stolen so that the thieves can't use it or access the data you have stored on the phone.

California Legislature passes 'kill switch' cell phone bill

Melody Gutierrez
Updated 7:56 am, Tuesday, August 12, 2014

• 
  State Sen. Mark Leno introduced the bill requiring antitheft kill switches on cell phones. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle
  
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Sacramento --
California would become the first state in the country to require "kill switches" on smartphones that prompt consumers to activate the antitheft technology under a bill passed by the state Legislature on Monday and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The increasing number of smartphone thefts in California prompted the bill by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who said consumers would have more control over their personal information if their device is lost or stolen. The antitheft technology, often referred to as a "kill switch," allows the owner of a smartphone to remotely render it inoperable, which law enforcement officials said would deter thieves who target the devices.

SB962 has been one of the more high-profile and intensely lobbied bills in the Legislature this year, however, in recent months, many of the bill's opponents have quieted. Major cell phone manufacturers such asApple and Microsoft removed their opposition.

"This is the first bill of its kind in the country," Leno said. "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."

Under Leno's bill, beginning in July 2015, consumers would be prompted during the initial set up of a new cell phone to enable the kill switch. If a consumer chooses to accept all default settings, the kill switch would automatically be enabled.

Industry opposition

The wireless industry trade group CTIA fought the kill-switch bill, at first saying the proposal was technically unfeasible, prohibitively expensive and rife for abuse by hackers. After Leno's bill gained traction, the industry group announced a who's who of smartphone makers and wireless carriers that had decided to offer the antitheft technology as an optional tool beginning in July 2015. Leno said the industry's approach didn't go far enough to put the technology in front of customers and continued to push for his bill.

"We urge the Governor to not sign this bill since uniformity in the wireless industry created tremendous benefits for wireless consumers, including lower costs and phenomenal innovation," said Jamie Hastings, the group's vice president of external and state affairs in a statement. "State by state technology mandates, such as this one, stifle those benefits and are detrimental to wireless consumers."

Leno said requiring cell phone users to actively choose not to turn on the antitheft technology would result in significantly more devices having the kill switch activated. Smartphone thefts have grown increasingly violent as the price for devices has risen to several hundred dollars on the black market.

More than 3.1 million Americans had smartphones stolen in 2013, up from 1.6 million in 2012, according to a Consumer Reports survey.

The Federal Communications Commission pegged mobile-device theft as the leading property crime in America.

"The manufacturers have indicated that they will implement this technology nationwide with passage of this bill, and with organized crime rings shipping smartphones stolen in the U.S. overseas, passage of this legislation will have implications for public safety around the globe," said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who sponsored the bill.

Gascón's office said more than 65 percent of all robberies in San Francisco involve the theft of a mobile device, while Los Angeles has reported a 30 percent increase since 2011 in smartphone thefts.

Reducing armed robbery

Oakland leaders praised Leno's bill, saying it offers an innovative strategy to reduce crime. More than 80 percent of armed robberies in Oakland in the first five months of this year involved a cell phone, according to police data.

"This has been a top priority for me and I look forward to Gov. Brown signing this into law so we can deter and reduce the violent armed and strong-arm robberies that have afflicted Oakland and our entire state," said Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb, who himself was robbed at gunpoint for his iPhone outside his North Oakland home in 2012.

Leno's bill would prohibit local governments from enacting their own requirements on cell phone manufacturers, similar to the one San Francisco Supervisor London Breed proposed earlier this year. Breed proposed local legislation requiring kill switches on phones sold in the city after the Senate initially rejected a statewide mandate.

The Senate reconsidered Leno's bill and narrowly passed it to the Assembly after the senator promised to exclude tablets from the provisions and extend the effective date for smartphones by six months to July 1, 2015.

The bill returned to the Senate on Monday for approval of the amendments. The Senate passed the bill in a bipartisan 27-8 vote.

Sen.Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, urged lawmakers to pass the bill, saying he hoped it would free up district attorneys and other law enforcement officials to "focus on more important crime."

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/C...ll-5682443.php

California passes law mandating smartphone kill switch

PCWorld 8 minutes ago

Written by Martyn Williams

Smartphones sold in California will soon be required to have a kill switch that lets users remotely lock them and wipe them of data in the event they are lost or stolen...

Why the kill switch law can make iPhone theft obsolete

Nicole Martinelli (3:08 pm PDT, Aug 25th)


SACRAMENTO — California just flipped the kill switch for smartphones, in a move to make iCrime a thing of the past.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law State Sen. Mark Leno’s Smartphone Theft Prevention Act (Senate Bill 962). The law will affect any smartphone manufactured on or after July 1, 2015.

There’s some reason to hope that the kill switch will do for smartphones what sophisticated alarm systems did for cars: make stealing them less appealing than a pair of leg warmers. Car thefts plummeted 96 percent in New York City when engine immobilizer systems came into play.

A recent study estimates that savings from kill switch legislation could total well over $3 billion.

California isn’t be the first state mandate a kill switch – that distinction goes to Minnesota, which heeded the call from consumers in May. But passing a kill switch in the most populous state in the U.S. and the birthplace of the iPhone may mark a sea change in similar legislation.

At a time when almost half of all Americans walk around with smartphones, the expensive devices make easy targets. Consumer Reports estimates that about 1.6 million cell phones were stolen in the US during 2012 and these cell phone swipes represent about half of all thefts in most major cities. San Francisco’s District Attorney George Gascon, a vocal proponent of the initiative, said new law would “turn the page” on an “epidemic” impacting millions around the globe.

Microsoft and Apple removed obstacles to supporting the measure earlier this year and electronics giant LG is already working on an internal kill switch.

Under the new law, retailers who sell smartphones in California or ship them to buyers in California sans kill switch risk a civil penalty from $500 to $2,500. Phones made before January 1, 2015 without an easy retrofit and those sold on the aftermarket (think: Craig’s list) don’t have to comply.
“To be effective, antitheft technological solutions need to be ubiquitous, as thieves cannot distinguish between those smartphones that have the solutions enabled and those that do not,” the text of the bill states. The switch must be able to “withstand a hard reset or operating system downgrade,” come pre-equipped on the phone with the default setting as “on.” Authorized users, however, can opt out.

Developers Cult of Mac talked to had mixed reactions to the new law.

“Being a power user, I like knowing that my private and business stuff can be locked in case of loss or theft. That can only be a good thing,” says Giacomo Balli, a San Francisco-based developer and consultant with eight of his own apps currently in the [COLOR=blue !important]iTunes store. “As a developer there aren’t any specific concerns a part from, perhaps, managing and changing device IDs, but that’s something that good developers already take into account when, for example, a user buys a new iPhone or adds an iPad.”

Erik LaManna of WillowTree Apps, which has made some 180 apps since 2007, says the kill switch is all well and good, but, as in the brutal case of a recent iPhone theft and murder, what happens next?

“Even with a kill-switch or tracking option, there is also the issue of enforcement and recovering phones,” LaManna says. “There would need to be a commitment on the side of law enforcement to prosecute these thefts and to help recover stolen phones. — Right now there are many cases where a phone user will attempt to track down their stolen phone and confront the thief.”

Other concerns about abuse of the kill switch were raised after civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of an unarmed teen.

“I’m stunned that a representative from San Francisco can push this, especially after the BART administration shutdown cell phone coverage during the protests of the recent past — I would have thought that libertarians would be in an uproar about this. Do they think such a standard won’t have a ‘backdoor?’” said Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure Labs.

“This type of feature is best left to the consumer to install by choice, not by mandate,” he added.

http://www.cultofmac.com/291430/kill-switch-law/

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





H George Tavakoli's photos