Samsung's Antitheft Kill Switch for Mobile Devices Is DOA

It sounds tough to argue with: a setting on smartphones and tablets that lets owners disable a lost or stolen device remotely. If thieves know stolen mobile gadgets will quickly become about as useful as a brick and tough to resell, they may decide it isn’t worth the effort. Samsung has developed just such a feature for its mobile devices, but the Korean company has hit a snag. U.S. wireless carriers won’t sell their products if they come loaded with the disabling feature.

More than 1.6 million Americans were robbed of their mobile devices last year, according to the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, a coalition of law enforcement officials and consumer advocates who support the incorporation of kill switches. “This is a growing epidemic affecting all corners of our nation and accounting for a majority of the robberies in our cities,” the coalition, led by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, said in a statement. The group says that by rendering theft pointless, kill-switch technology makes mobile users safer.