Why governments are scrambling to pass smartphone killswitch laws
See the original posting on The Verge
In less than a decade, smartphones have become an incredibly important part of peoples’ lives. In the US alone, 166 million people now own them, according to a recent report by ComScore. And those devices aren’t just used for making calls. More often they’re used for texting, web browsing, going through email, and downloading apps, with Americans spending on average more than an hour a day with their eyes glued to tiny glowing screens.
All those things make them an increasingly worrisome target for theft. It’s not just the hardware that’s being stolen, it’s potentially a chunk of your digital life too. That’s why lawmakers in the US are trying (and in some cases succeeding) to pass bills requiring anti-theft features that protect…