Earlier this year, California Senator Mark Leno introduced a new bill that would require cellphone makers to install 'kill switches' in all of their handsets, rendering them inoperable when stolen. The move comes as smartphone thefts continue to rise in major US cities.
Unsurprisingly, Leno's bill won Senate approval by a vote of 27-8 today, meaning that it's just one step away from becoming law in the state of California. All it needs now is Governor Jerry Brown's signature, and device manufacturers will have essentially a year to comply...