SYRACUSE, NY — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei are calling on Congress to require smartphone makers to install “kill switches” on phones to render them useless if stolen.
Maffei joined Schneiderman Friday to say he’s co-sponsoring legislation in the House designed to curb smartphone thefts. Kill switches allow a person to remotely delete their phone’s data if the device is stolen.
Maffei, a Democrat, says the initiative would deter phone thefts by making them worthless on the black market.
Schneiderman commended Maffei for supporting what he called “groundbreaking” legislation. The Democratic attorney general has been pushing smartphone makers to do more to prevent thefts.