Bill Text: NY A06953 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to a smart phone device "kill switch"; requires the ability to remotely delete data on a smart phone device in the event such device is lost or stolen; provides that such technology is required by July 1, 2018.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-4)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A06953 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A06953-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6953 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 27, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. TITONE, MOSLEY, OTIS, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, McDO- NOUGH, DiPIETRO, GALEF, SEPULVEDA, SIMOTAS, HOOPER, ABINANTI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD, COOK, CROUCH, GIGLIO, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, HIKIND, STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to smart phone device "kill switch" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that: 2 (a) According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one in 3 three robberies in the United States involves the theft of a mobile 4 device, making it the number one property crime in the country. Many of 5 these robberies often turn violent with some resulting in the loss of 6 life. 7 (b) The FCC estimates that between thirty to forty percent of United 8 States street theft involves a mobile device. In fact, more than forty 9 percent of all robberies in New York city involve smartphones and other 10 cell phones. 11 (c) Consumer reports projects that 1.6 million Americans had their 12 smartphones stolen in 2012. 13 (d) According to the New York Times, one hundred thirteen smartphones 14 are lost or stolen every minute in the United States. 15 (e) Major cities are home to the highest concentrations of cell phone 16 theft, and officials in New York and California have been pushing for a 17 cellphone kill switch in those states since April 2012. According to New 18 York state attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, the United States Senate 19 proposal would force the mobile industry to "stop dragging its feet and 20 join us in protecting consumers." 21 (f) In April of 2012, U.S. senator Charles Schumer, D-New York, and 22 New York city police commissioner Ray Kelly announced that the major EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09216-01-7A. 6953 2 1 U.S. cell phone carriers and the Federal Communications Commission have 2 agreed to set up a national database to track reported stolen phones. 3 Senator Schumer also introduced a bill called the mobile device theft 4 deterrence act, which proposes a five-year prison sentence for tampering 5 with the ID numbers of a stolen cell phone. 6 (g) According to press reports, the international trafficking of 7 stolen smartphones by organized criminal organizations has grown expo- 8 nentially in recent years because of how profitable the trade has 9 become. 10 (h) Replacement of lost and stolen mobile devices was an estimated 11 thirty-billion-dollar business in 2012 according to studies conducted by 12 mobile communications security experts. Additionally, industry publica- 13 tions indicate that the four largest providers of commercial mobile 14 radio services made an estimated seven billion eight hundred million 15 dollars from theft and loss insurance products in 2013. 16 (i) Technological solutions that render stolen mobile communications 17 devices useless already exist, but the industry has been slow to adopt 18 them. 19 (j) In order to be effective, these technological solutions need to be 20 ubiquitous, as thieves cannot distinguish between those mobile devices 21 that have the solutions enabled and those that do not. As a result, the 22 technological solution should be able to withstand a hard reset or oper- 23 ating system downgrade, and be enabled by default, with consumers being 24 given the option to affirmatively elect to disable this protection. 25 (k) Manufacturers of mobile devices and commercial mobile radio 26 service providers should make efforts to protect their customers from 27 being targeted as a result of purchasing their products and services. 28 (l) It is the intent of the legislature to require all smartphones and 29 other mobile devices offered for sale in New York to come with a techno- 30 logical solution enabled in order to deter theft and protect consumers. 31 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399- 32 zzzzz to read as follows: 33 § 399-zzzzz. Smart phone device "kill switch". 1. Definitions. For 34 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following 35 meanings: 36 (a) "Account holder" with respect to a mobile device or devices, means 37 the person who holds the account through which commercial mobile data 38 service is provided on the device or devices and includes anyone else 39 authorized by such person to take actions with respect to such device or 40 devices. 41 (b) "Commercial mobile data service" has the same meaning as found in 42 section 6001 of 47 U.S.C. 1401, as amended from time to time. 43 (c) "Commercial mobile service" has the same meaning as given in 44 section 332 of 47 U.S.C. 301 et seq., as amended from time to time. 45 (d) "Mobile device" means a personal electronic device on which 46 commercial mobile service or commercial mobile data service is provided. 47 2. Any provider of commercial mobile data service or commercial mobile 48 service shall, by itself or in conjunction with the manufacturer of a 49 mobile device, ensure that any mobile device utilizing its service is 50 equipped with technology designed to: 51 (a) remotely delete the account holder's data that is on the mobile 52 device in the event the mobile device is lost or stolen; 53 (b) render the mobile device inoperable to an unauthorized, non-ac- 54 count holder by means of locking the mobile device such that it cannot 55 be used without a password or personal identification number, except in 56 accordance with any applicable Federal Communications Commission rulesA. 6953 3 1 for 911 emergency communications and, if available, emergency numbers 2 programmed by the authorized user; 3 (c) prevent reactivation without the account holder's permission, 4 including unauthorized factory reset attempts, to the extent technolog- 5 ically feasible; and 6 (d) reverse the inoperability if the mobile device is recovered by the 7 account holder and restore user data on the mobile device to the extent 8 feasible. 9 3. The technology required under subdivision two of this section shall 10 be offered in mobile devices sold in New York state beginning July 11 first, two thousand eighteen, and shall be made available on mobile 12 devices at no cost to consumers, provided, however, that mobile devices 13 may be made available without such technology if such devices are 14 authorized pursuant to federal law or regulation. 15 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
