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Re:California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Pr... by computer on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @03:09PM (#8199179)
> When did preventing stolen phones become such a hot button issue?

When phones started being $600+ and carried by nearly everyone. I'm just as much against the kill switches as you are, but I've heard so many cops and high ranking police officers complain about smart-phone theft that I think that they truly believe this would be a major weapon against criminals.

And why wouldn't it be: every phone theft is hundreds of dollars, and there's a lot of phone thefts happening worldwide.

Re:California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Pr... by discardorama on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @04:30PM (#8199611)
> I think that they truly believe this would be a major weapon against criminals.

Not really. They truly believe that this bill would be great for controlling people. But they can't come out and say that openly. Hence the theft strawman.

We have a national do-not-call registry. Why not have a registry of stolen IMEI codes? Problem solved. But that would be too easy.

Re:California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Pr... by zhengyi13 on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @05:34PM (#8199944)
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong."