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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to consumer protection
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Enacts the smartphone and tablet security act
In Assembly Committee · Consumer Affairs And Protection · Sponsor Andrew Hevesi
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S6748
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the smartphone and tablet security act
Purpose or general idea of bill
Requires all smartphones sold after Jan 1st, 2015 to be equipped with a kill switch.
Summary of specific provisions
The general business law is amended by adding a new article, Article 39-H, containing three new sections.
Section 899-aaaa establishes definitions used in the article.
Section 899-bbbb provides that no smartphones shall be sold at retail after January 1st, 2015 without containing a means of remotely rendering them permanently inoperable and provides that only the owner or a person specifically selected by the owner of the smartphone shall be able to disable this feature. It also provides that a commercial mobile service provider shall not include a provision in a service contract requiring the owner of a smartphone to disable this feature.
Section 899-cccc establishes the right of the Attorney General to bring a civil action against violators of the law and establishes penalties for violating the law.
Justification
Smartphone theft is currently an enormous problem in New York State. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), around half of all robberies committed in New York State involve smartphones. Due to their small size, high value, and ubiquitous presence on citizens' person, they are common targets for theft during robberies.
This bill would provide consumers with an important safeguard against data theft and privacy violation in the event that their smartphone is lost or stolen. Allowing users to remotely render their smartphone inoperable would significantly reduce the resale value of the phone and discourage smartphone theft.
Prior legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.