Minnesota becomes first state to mandate smartphone 'kill switch'

Minnesota’s governor Mark Dayton just signed the first law requiring smartphones to be sold with pre-installed antitheft software, now commonly referred to as a kill switch. The new Minnesota law will be effective on July 1, 2015.

The legislation, however, does not clearly define a ‘kill switch’ in that it doesn’t mandate stolen phones must be rendered inoperable once stolen. Moreover, the bill itself also allows for phone manufacturers to sell phones without antitheft software so long as consumers can download it for free:

Any new smart phone manufactured on or after July 1, 2015, sold or purchased in Minnesota must be equipped with preloaded antitheft functionality or be capable of downloading that functionality.