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NY AG Schneiderman Wants To Make A Cell Phone "Kill Switch"
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Jun 5, 2013
Modified Jun 5, 2013
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Jun 5, 2013
Modified Jun 5, 2013
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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman isn't just sitting there on his hand waiting to become governor -- no, he's out there working for New Yorkers who have been wronged, from getting large mortgage settlements to investigating stop & frisk, in a new effort, killing stolen cell phones.
Schneiderman is teaming up with San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon to meet with representatives from large cell phone manufacturers like Apple, Google, Motorola, Samsung and Microsoft at a June conference in New York City to ask them to install a way for their cell phones to permanently disable themselves if theirs are stolen (and shoved up thieves' butts).
After a 40% jump in the theft of cell phones in New York City last year, Scnheiderman believes that giving customers the opportunity to kill their cell phones would end the black market for the coveted hardware.
“It’s time for manufacturers to be as innovative in solving this problem as they have been in designing devices that have reshaped how we live,” Schneiderman said, announcing the cell phone summit.
Schneiderman believes this is the best option for stemming iPhone-related violence in New York, something the city has a little bit of a problem with. One of the crimes Schneiderman cited was the fatal shooting of a young chef for his iPhone in the Bronx last year.
Tagged
crime
eric schneiderman
icrime
iphone
Schneiderman
Stolen Phones
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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