Manufacturers and operators are committed in the United States.
Apple, Google, HTC, Huawei, Motorola, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung and five major U.S. phone companies have signed an agreement so that from July 2015 all new phones being offered for sale will carry anti-theft systems.
Smartphone theft is a common crime in cities like New York. In the U.S. 1.6 million phones are stolen each year. In the city of Los Angeles, this crime has seen a 12% increase in the last year alone.
Democratic Senator Mark Leno from California promotes a federal law for all phones and tablets to include a “Kill Switch” system at the time of purchase. The knowledge that these devices are unusable if stolen would end the black market, according to Leno, and therefore void much of the benefits from this type of crime.
Before the anti-theft system is made a law, the industry has moved forward with a voluntary agreement.
In the words of CTIA,this ensures that each mobile sold from July 2015 will be equipped with an anti-theft system.
http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/smartphone-anti-theft-voluntary-commitment
.
