California’s smartphone “kill switch” bill has been signed into law

It’s official: every cellphone sold in California will now have to include a remote disabling option that lets you render a stolen device unusable. More importantly, this anti-theft security measure will have to come enabled by default. The “kill switch” bill, which was introduced in February by State Senator Mark Leno and sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, was signed into law by California governor Jerry Brown on Monday. Phones sold after July 1, 2015 in the state that do not comply with the new law will be penalized anywhere between $500 to $2,500 per device.

California’s governor signed a law on Monday that requires smartphones sold in the state to come with technology that lets owners disable them if they’re stolen. Smartphone thieves in California are about to meet a new adversary – the kill switch. Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law a bill requiring anti-theft features be built into new phones and automatically turned on. People whose phones are stolen would be able to remotely lock them and erase their data, making the devices worthless targets. The law, which goes into effect in July 2015, is a big victory for anti-crime advocates who had complained that smartphone makers like Apple didn’t do enough to help their customers fend off theft. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, for example, had publicly criticized the industry for failing to beef up security after phone theft became epidemic in his city.