California lawmakers have rejected a bill that would mandate “kill switches” on smartphones sold in the state.
Under the proposal, all smartphones in California were to be sold with software that could render a phone unusable in the event of theft. However, California’s state senate shot down the bill with a 19-17 vote. It required 21 votes to pass.
Those who backed the bill wanted the new legislature to protect the users from rapidly rising smartphone theft; the rejection, they claim, favors big industry.
“With their no vote, 17 members of the Senate chose to protect billion-dollar industry profits over the safety of the constituents they were elected to serve,” said San Francisco District Attorney and bill sponsor George Gascon.
Still, even if kill switches don’t get off the ground in individual states, their arrival is impending. Wireless trade group CTIA announced earlier this month that manufacturers will start voluntarily building them into mobile devices by July of next year. Those on board already include Apple, Microsoft, Google and Samsung.