This law is intended to mitigate the escalation in armed robberies for smartphones that is hitting urban areas in California.
Armed robbers are aware that many (most?) people of even modest means are carrying around devices that, once stolen by force, can be sold (probably to a fencing operation) for a few hundred bucks.
The ability to render smartphones worthless if stolen would go a long way toward reducing the incentive to commit these particular robberies, which constitute a large part of the recent increase in California's armed robbery (and by implication violent crime) rate.
Recently in the Bay Area, where I live, an armed robber held up several people at once, and took all the phones ... except a feature phone.
Armed robbers are aware that many (most?) people of even modest means are carrying around devices that, once stolen by force, can be sold (probably to a fencing operation) for a few hundred bucks.
The ability to render smartphones worthless if stolen would go a long way toward reducing the incentive to commit these particular robberies, which constitute a large part of the recent increase in California's armed robbery (and by implication violent crime) rate.
Recently in the Bay Area, where I live, an armed robber held up several people at once, and took all the phones ... except a feature phone.
EDIT: wording.