S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6953
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              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:
 
   Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that:
   (a)  According  to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one in
 three robberies in the United States involves  the  theft  of  a  mobile
 device,  making it the number one property crime in the country. Many of
 these robberies often turn violent with some resulting in  the  loss  of
 life.
   (b)  The  FCC estimates that between thirty to forty percent of United
 States street theft involves a mobile device. In fact, more  than  forty
 percent  of all robberies in New York city involve smartphones and other
 cell phones.
   (c) Consumer reports projects that 1.6  million  Americans  had  their
 smartphones stolen in 2012.
   (d)  According to the New York Times, one hundred thirteen smartphones
 are lost or stolen every minute in the United States.
   (e) Major cities are home to the highest concentrations of cell  phone
 theft,  and officials in New York and California have been pushing for a
 cellphone kill switch in those states since April 2012. According to New
 York state attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, the United States Senate
 proposal would force the mobile industry to "stop dragging its feet  and
 join us in protecting consumers."
   (f)  In  April  of 2012, U.S. senator Charles Schumer, D-New York, and
 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.
              

                                                            LBD09216-01-7

 A. 6953                             2
 
 U.S.  cell phone carriers and the Federal Communications Commission have
 agreed  to  set  up a national database to track reported stolen phones.
 Senator Schumer also introduced a bill called the  mobile  device  theft
 deterrence act, which proposes a five-year prison sentence for tampering
 with the ID numbers of a stolen cell phone.
   (g)  According  to  press  reports,  the  international trafficking of
 stolen smartphones by organized criminal organizations has  grown  expo-
 nentially  in  recent  years  because  of  how  profitable the trade has
 become.
   (h) Replacement of lost and stolen mobile  devices  was  an  estimated
 thirty-billion-dollar business in 2012 according to studies conducted by
 mobile  communications security experts. Additionally, industry publica-
 tions indicate that the four  largest  providers  of  commercial  mobile
 radio  services  made  an  estimated seven billion eight hundred million
 dollars from theft and loss insurance products in 2013.
   (i) Technological solutions that render stolen  mobile  communications
 devices  useless  already exist, but the industry has been slow to adopt
 them.
   (j) In order to be effective, these technological solutions need to be
 ubiquitous, as thieves cannot distinguish between those  mobile  devices
 that  have the solutions enabled and those that do not. As a result, the
 technological solution should be able to withstand a hard reset or oper-
 ating system downgrade, and be enabled by default, with consumers  being
 given the option to affirmatively elect to disable this protection.
   (k)  Manufacturers  of  mobile  devices  and  commercial  mobile radio
 service providers should make efforts to protect  their  customers  from
 being targeted as a result of purchasing their products and services.
   (l) It is the intent of the legislature to require all smartphones and
 other mobile devices offered for sale in New York to come with a techno-
 logical solution enabled in order to deter theft and protect consumers.
   §  2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399-
 zzzzz to read as follows:
   § 399-ZZZZZ.  SMART PHONE DEVICE "KILL SWITCH".  1.  DEFINITIONS.  FOR
 PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING
 MEANINGS:
   (A) "ACCOUNT HOLDER" WITH RESPECT TO A MOBILE DEVICE OR DEVICES, MEANS
 THE PERSON WHO HOLDS THE ACCOUNT THROUGH WHICH  COMMERCIAL  MOBILE  DATA
 SERVICE  IS  PROVIDED  ON THE DEVICE OR DEVICES AND INCLUDES ANYONE ELSE
 AUTHORIZED BY SUCH PERSON TO TAKE ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SUCH DEVICE OR
 DEVICES.
   (B) "COMMERCIAL MOBILE DATA SERVICE" HAS THE SAME MEANING AS FOUND  IN
 SECTION 6001 OF 47 U.S.C. 1401, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME.
   (C)  "COMMERCIAL  MOBILE  SERVICE"  HAS  THE  SAME MEANING AS GIVEN IN
 SECTION 332 OF 47 U.S.C.  301 ET SEQ., AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME.
   (D) "MOBILE DEVICE"  MEANS  A  PERSONAL  ELECTRONIC  DEVICE  ON  WHICH
 COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE OR COMMERCIAL MOBILE DATA SERVICE IS PROVIDED.
   2. ANY PROVIDER OF COMMERCIAL MOBILE DATA SERVICE OR COMMERCIAL MOBILE
 SERVICE  SHALL,  BY  ITSELF OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MANUFACTURER OF A
 MOBILE DEVICE, ENSURE THAT ANY MOBILE DEVICE UTILIZING  ITS  SERVICE  IS
 EQUIPPED WITH TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED TO:
   (A)  REMOTELY  DELETE  THE ACCOUNT HOLDER'S DATA THAT IS ON THE MOBILE
 DEVICE IN THE EVENT THE MOBILE DEVICE IS LOST OR STOLEN;
   (B) RENDER THE MOBILE DEVICE INOPERABLE TO  AN  UNAUTHORIZED,  NON-AC-
 COUNT  HOLDER  BY MEANS OF LOCKING THE MOBILE DEVICE SUCH THAT IT CANNOT
 BE USED WITHOUT A PASSWORD OR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, EXCEPT  IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  ANY APPLICABLE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RULES

 A. 6953                             3
 
 FOR 911 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND, IF  AVAILABLE,  EMERGENCY  NUMBERS
 PROGRAMMED BY THE AUTHORIZED USER;
   (C)  PREVENT  REACTIVATION  WITHOUT  THE  ACCOUNT HOLDER'S PERMISSION,
 INCLUDING UNAUTHORIZED FACTORY RESET ATTEMPTS, TO THE EXTENT  TECHNOLOG-
 ICALLY FEASIBLE; AND
   (D) REVERSE THE INOPERABILITY IF THE MOBILE DEVICE IS RECOVERED BY THE
 ACCOUNT  HOLDER AND RESTORE USER DATA ON THE MOBILE DEVICE TO THE EXTENT
 FEASIBLE.
   3. THE TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED UNDER SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION SHALL
 BE OFFERED IN MOBILE DEVICES SOLD  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE  BEGINNING  JULY
 FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  EIGHTEEN,  AND  SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON MOBILE
 DEVICES AT NO COST TO CONSUMERS, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT MOBILE  DEVICES
 MAY  BE  MADE  AVAILABLE  WITHOUT  SUCH  TECHNOLOGY  IF SUCH DEVICES ARE
 AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.