The California Senate on Thursday voted down a state measure that would require smarter anti-theft security on smartphones. The bill, introduced by State Senator Mark Leno and sponsored by George Gascon, San Francisco's district attorney, would have required a so-called kill switch which would render a smartphone useless after it was stolen on all smartphones sold in California. The proposal needed 21 votes to pass in the 40-member chamber. After debate on Thursday morning at the Capitol, in Sacramento, it fell two votes short of passing, with a final count of 19 to 17 in favor.
(Score: 2) by Open4D on Friday April 25 2014, @09:07PM
That's what worries me about these proposed laws. Wouldn't they require users to be locked out from full control over their phones?
Even if theoretically the answer were no, I fear in practice that's what would happen. Manufacturers already have mixed feelings towards making phones rootable. With a law like this, the easiest thing to do is surely remove as much control over the phone as possible (except the officially supported features).