BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 962
Author: Leno (D), et al.
Amended: 5/5/14
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMM. : 6-2, 4/1/14
AYES: Padilla, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hill, Pavley, Wolk
NOES: Fuller, Knight
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Cannella, De Le�n
SENATE FLOOR : 19-17, 4/24/14 (FAIL)
AYES: Block, Corbett, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Gaines,
Hancock, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning,
Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Cannella, Correa, Fuller,
Galgiani, Hernandez, Huff, Knight, Lara, Morrell, Nielsen,
Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Hueso, Wright, Yee
SUBJECT : Advanced mobile communications devices
SOURCE : San Francisco District Attorney, George Gasc�n
DIGEST : This bill requires that any advanced mobile
communications device (smartphone), as defined, that is
manufactured and sold in California on or after July 1, 2015,
include a technological solution that can render inoperable the
essential features of the device, as defined, when the device is
not in the possession of the rightful owner.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 5/5/14 make the technological
solution requirement applicable to smartphones manufactured and
sold in California after July 1, 2015; limit the technological
solution requirement to smartphones; and require that the
smartphone's default setting prompts the user to enable the
technological solution.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides that theft - the stealing, taking, or driving away
with the personal property of another - is a misdemeanor when
the value of the property does not exceed $950 and is
punishable by fines and up to one year in the county jail.
2.Requires all providers of wireless and Internet-based
communications services to enable customers to call 911 for
emergency services, and establishes dates for enabling text to
911 and Next Generation 911.
This bill:
1.Requires that any smartphone, as defined, that is manufactured
and sold in California on or after July 1, 2015, include a
technological solution that can render the essential features
of a smartphone inoperable to an unauthorized user when the
smartphone is not in the possession of the rightful owner.
2.States that the technological solution shall be reversible, so
that if the rightful owner obtains possession of the
smartphone after the essential features of the smartphone have
been rendered inoperable, the operation of those essential
features can be restored by the rightful owner or his/her
authorized designee.
3.States that no smartphone may be sold in California without
the technological solution enabled unless, during the
activation and registration process, the smartphone's default
setting prompts the user to enable the technological solution.
4.Makes any person or retail entity subject to a civil penalty
of up to $2,500 for each smartphone sold after July 1, 2015,
unless that smartphone includes a technological solution, as
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specified.
5.Provides that the rightful owner of a smartphone may
affirmatively elect to disable the technological solution at
the point of sale, during the activation and registration
process, or anytime thereafter, as specified.
6.Requires that the technological solution be able to withstand
a "hard reset," as specified.
7.Applies the technological solution requirement to any
smartphone "sold at retail" from a location within the state
or shipped to any person at an address within the state, but
provides an exception if a smartphone is both manufactured
prior to July 1, 2015, or originally sold outside of
California, and resold in California on the secondary market
or consigned and held as collateral on a loan.
8.States that "Sold in California" does not include a smartphone
that is resold in the state on the secondhand market or that
is consigned and held as collateral on a loan.
Background
As smartphones continue to transform all aspects of modern life,
they also have caused a crime epidemic. More than 90% of all
Americans own a mobile device, and nearly 60% a smartphone. The
high resale value of smartphones and other hand-held mobile
devices like tablets, and their relatively small size, make them
prime targets for thieves. Many published reports document a
dramatic increase of smartphone theft. According to reports
summarized by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office:
Most robberies now involve the theft of a smartphone;
In 2012, more than 50% of all robberies in San Francisco and
75% in Oakland involved the theft of a mobile device; and
An estimated 1.6 million Americans were victimized for their
smartphones in 2012.
The Federal Communications Commission, law enforcement, and
industry collaborated on efforts to address the problem in 2012.
These included providing consumers more security options on
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devices and automatic prompts to establish passwords and
launching a public education campaign urging consumers to use
security apps that enable them to remotely locate, lock and wipe
devices. A national database was established to help prevent
lost or stolen phones from being reactivated. Wireless carriers
use the database to check whether a device presented to them has
been reported lost or stolen and, if so, it will not allow
service to be established. Its effectiveness depends on
consumers reporting a lost or stolen phone. Industry reports
that efforts are underway to link more foreign carriers and
countries to the database. Without that international
cooperation, stolen phones resold in foreign countries continue
to have value.
Industry continues to introduce new and more sophisticated
security solutions for consumers. These include options such as
Apple's "Find My iPhone" with "Activation Lock" feature that
allows a person who has lost or stolen an iPhone to remotely log
into a hosted platform and send a signal to lock the device and
make it unusable without the original owner's security passcode
established when the device was purchased. Other solutions
include Samsung's "Reactivation Lock" and Android's "Lo Jack."
Some solutions are built into the device or downloaded as an
app, some with a fee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/5/14)
San Francisco, District Attorney George Gasc�n (source)
Alameda County, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley
Associated Students of the University of California
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
BART Police
California District Attorneys Association
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Police Chiefs Association
California Transit Association
Cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego,
and Santa Ana
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of California
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Consumers Union
Hayward, Police Chief Diane Urban
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti
Los Angeles, Police Chief Charlie Beck
Metropolitan Police Department
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils of Oakland
Oakland, City Council President Pro-Tempore Rebecca Kaplan
Oakland, City Councilman Dan Kalb
Oakland, Mayor Jean Quan
Oakland, Police Chief Sean Whent
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association
San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
San Francisco, Police Chief Greg Suhr
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Secure Our Smartphones Coalition
Temescal Merchants Association
The Utility Reform Network
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/5/14)
Microsoft
Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
TechNet
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The League of California Cities states
in part:
This technological solution, or "kill switch," would be
activated remotely by the consumer using another electronic
device, and would require the consumer to go to a Web site,
enter his/her unique password, chosen at the time the device was
purchased, to activate this feature.
The technology represented by this measure, which would render
stolen devices useless, already exists. Therefore it will not
impose an onerous burden on the telecommunications industry by
requiring it to develop some new application, nor will it
trigger privacy concerns, as it will not require the transfer or
storage of any data that may be on the device at the time it is
stolen or lost.
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This bill represents a reasonable and measured response to a
growing public safety threat. It will enhance public safety by
removing an incentive for smartphone or electronic device theft,
which in at least some instances is accomplished through violent
means. The League supports this measure as it will not impose
any additional mandates on local law enforcement, yet it will
promote public safety by establishing an effective theft
deterrent without triggering a new program or higher level of
service.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber
of Commerce states in part:
Most operating systems developed in Silicon Valley already
possess the capability to remotely lock, erase, or disable their
mobile devices (including Apple's IOS and Microsoft's Windows
Phone.) Also, as of late last year, all four major national
wireless carriers had begun participation in the international
database of lost or stolen fourth generation long term evolution
(4GLTE) phones.
While we are conscious of the need to protect consumers and
their identities, we must also remember to be sensitive to the
regulatory environment necessary for innovation. The
requirement of such a regulation, on a state by state basis,
could create considerable market barriers for innovative
manufacturers and the consumers they serve, and mandating
technology is usually a recipe for the creation of an
anticompetitive and anti-consumer choice environment. In short,
the antitheses of what leading Silicon Valley companies strive
for on a daily basis.
JG:e 5/6/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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