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.
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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.