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It's a shame that none of the policy suggestions for something like this would leave Apple's Activation Lock unscathed. Activation lock caused something like a

It's a shame that none of the policy suggestions for something like this would leave Apple's Activation Lock unscathed. Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented. Before that, stealing phones was starting to look like stealing shoes in the 90's. It even had its own slang, "apple picking".

pxeboot 9y ago
Making replacement parts and repair manuals available wouldn't meaningfully hurt device activation schemes. Sure, somebody could buy and replace the logic board in a stolen phone, but criminals are already able to do that with used or stolen parts.
andrepd 9y ago
>Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented I'm extremely skeptical about that. Can you post sources? And why do you say that these proposals are not compatible with Activation Lock-style schemes?
- wvenable 9y ago
  http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-smartphone-killswitch/smartphone-theft-drops-in-london-two-u-s-cities-as-anti-theft-kill-switches-installed-idUKKBN0LF09320150211 http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-smartphone-killswitch/s...
  - shakna 9y ago
    > Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing “kill switches” that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday. > Johnson, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were among numerous officials arguing for new laws mandating the kill switches. So phone theft decreased in cities considering mandating remote kill switches. That seems less Activation Lock, and more: > So far, Apple, Samsung and Google have implemented kill switches on their smartphones, and Microsoft is expected to release an operating system for its Windows phones that has one this year ... the fact that everyone is bringing such a technology to market at similar timelines. --- As for the claimed 50% drop: > The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities. That's an average below 40%, but those aren't stats. They're rounded figures. And only in three cities, over the whole world.
shakna 9y ago
> Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented. I think those stats sound fishy, but even if they aren't... Activation Lock came around the same time as the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act [0], which probably accounts much more for such a stunning decrease. [0] https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4065/text https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4065/text
- mercutio2 9y ago
  Activation Lock was introduced in September 2013. The bill (not law) you reference was first referred to the House five months later, but as far as I can tell was never passed in the Senate. Unless you’re arguing the mere existence of a bill caused phone theft to drop precipitously, I think the argument stands that credit is due to Activation Lock (or whatever the equivalent is for Android, about which I am ignorant).
  - shakna 9y ago
    > Activation Lock (or whatever the equivalent is for Android, about which I am ignorant). That's a different argument. One technology by one company, or the existence of a remote kill switch? Android's ADM gained that ability in October 2013. > The bill (not law) you reference was first referred to the House five months later, but as far as I can tell was never passed in the Senate. Some states have implemented it, however [0], and the bill is still going back and forth federally. [1] THe upshot being phones manufactured in California have required a remote kill switch since 2013. The mere existence of that law should cast doubt on the claim: > Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented. [0] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB962 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml... [1] https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5834 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5834
codemusings 9y ago
> It's a shame that none of the policy suggestions for something like this would leave Apple's Activation Lock unscathed. How so? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but Activation Lock is tied to the Logic Board as far as I know. You wouldn't replace individual parts on your Logic Board. Everything else can be perfectly replaced without interfering in todays' iPhones. Even the Touch ID Sensor.

pxeboot 9y ago

Making replacement parts and repair manuals available wouldn't meaningfully hurt device activation schemes. Sure, somebody could buy and replace the logic board in a stolen phone, but criminals are already able to do that with used or stolen parts.

andrepd 9y ago

>Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented I'm extremely skeptical about that. Can you post sources? And why do you say that these proposals are not compatible with Activation Lock-style schemes?

wvenable 9y ago
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-smartphone-killswitch/smartphone-theft-drops-in-london-two-u-s-cities-as-anti-theft-kill-switches-installed-idUKKBN0LF09320150211 http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-smartphone-killswitch/s...
- shakna 9y ago
  > Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing “kill switches” that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday. > Johnson, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were among numerous officials arguing for new laws mandating the kill switches. So phone theft decreased in cities considering mandating remote kill switches. That seems less Activation Lock, and more: > So far, Apple, Samsung and Google have implemented kill switches on their smartphones, and Microsoft is expected to release an operating system for its Windows phones that has one this year ... the fact that everyone is bringing such a technology to market at similar timelines. --- As for the claimed 50% drop: > The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities. That's an average below 40%, but those aren't stats. They're rounded figures. And only in three cities, over the whole world.

shakna 9y ago

> Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented. I think those stats sound fishy, but even if they aren't... Activation Lock came around the same time as the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act [0], which probably accounts much more for such a stunning decrease. [0] https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4065/text https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4065/text

mercutio2 9y ago
Activation Lock was introduced in September 2013. The bill (not law) you reference was first referred to the House five months later, but as far as I can tell was never passed in the Senate. Unless you’re arguing the mere existence of a bill caused phone theft to drop precipitously, I think the argument stands that credit is due to Activation Lock (or whatever the equivalent is for Android, about which I am ignorant).
- shakna 9y ago
  > Activation Lock (or whatever the equivalent is for Android, about which I am ignorant). That's a different argument. One technology by one company, or the existence of a remote kill switch? Android's ADM gained that ability in October 2013. > The bill (not law) you reference was first referred to the House five months later, but as far as I can tell was never passed in the Senate. Some states have implemented it, however [0], and the bill is still going back and forth federally. [1] THe upshot being phones manufactured in California have required a remote kill switch since 2013. The mere existence of that law should cast doubt on the claim: > Activation lock caused something like a sustained 50% drop in phone thefts the year it was implemented. [0] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB962 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml... [1] https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5834 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5834

codemusings 9y ago

> It's a shame that none of the policy suggestions for something like this would leave Apple's Activation Lock unscathed. How so? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but Activation Lock is tied to the Logic Board as far as I know. You wouldn't replace individual parts on your Logic Board. Everything else can be perfectly replaced without interfering in todays' iPhones. Even the Touch ID Sensor.