Smartphones.

Existing law regulates various business activities and practices, including the sale of telephones. This bill would require that any smartphone, as defined, that is manufactured on or after July 1, 2015, and sold in California after that date, include a technological solution at the time of sale, which may consist of software, hardware, or both software and hardware, that, once initiated and successfully communicated to the smartphone, can render inoperable the essential features, as defined, of the smartphone to an unauthorized user when the smartphone is not in the possession of an authorized user. The bill would require that the technological solution, when enabled, be able to withstand a hard reset, as defined, and prevent reactivation of the smartphone on a wireless network except by an authorized user. The bill would make these requirements inapplicable when the smartphone is resold in California on the secondhand market or is consigned and held as collateral on a loan. The bill would additionally except from these requirements a smartphone model that was first introduced prior to January 1, 2015, that cannot reasonably be reengineered to support the manufacturer's or operating system provider's technological solution, including if the hardware or software cannot support a retroactive update. The bill would authorize an authorized user to affirmatively elect to disable or opt-out of the technological solution at any time. The bill would make the knowing retail sale in violation of the bill's requirements subject to a civil penalty of not less than $500, nor more than $2,500, for each violation. The bill would limit an enforcement action to collect the civil penalty to being brought by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or city attorney, and would prohibit any private right of action to collect the civil penalty. The bill would prohibit any city, county, or city and county from imposing requirements on manufacturers, operating system providers, wireless carriers, or retailers relating to technological solutions for smartphones.