Chairman Challenges Industry to Adopt eft-Prevention Technologies

Media Contact:

June 11, 2015

Neil Grace, (202) 418-0506

neil.grace@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER CHALLENGES WIRELESS INDUSTRY TO

ADOPT THEFT-PREVENTION TECHNOLOGIES ON MOBILE PHONES

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2015 - Today, the Federal Communication Commission's Technical

Advisory Committee (TAC), acting through its Mobile Device Theft Prevention Working Group,

released recommendations regarding on-device theft prevention features. To encourage a quick

pivot from recommendations to implementation, FCC Chairman Wheeler today called on the

wireless industry to voluntarily support the Working Group's opt-out recommendation, under

which theft-prevention features such as remote-locking and remote-data-wiping would be

activated on all mobile phones by default and require consumers to take affirmative steps to

disable them.

FCC Chairman Wheeler said, If implemented, these features will result in more consumers using

these powerful features which, in turn, will mark a key milestone in combatting smart phone

theft.

The working group, comprised of representatives from key industries involved with mobile

technologies, members of law enforcement and consumer interest organizations, recommended

supporting mobile device theft-prevention features, including that devices include remote lock

and wipe functionalities, as well as the ability to call 911 even when locked, all at no cost to the

consumer. The working group's recommendations seek to uniformly align and to more clearly

specify theft-prevention features defined in disparate state laws and the CTIA's own voluntary

commitments announced in April 2014. Implementation of these recommendations would create a

national framework for these features.

The TAC formed the Mobile Device Theft Prevention Working Group in 2014 to develop

industry-wide recommendations to mitigate the increasing theft of mobile devices, which has

become a major source of crime in the United States. In April 2015, Chairman Wheeler requested

that the TAC's Working Group identify approaches to ensuring that more consumers use on-

device anti-theft features. The full report of the Mobile Device Theft Prevention Working Group

can be found here: http://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/oet/tac/tacdocs/meeting12414/TAC-MDTP-

Report-v1.0-FINAL-TAC-version.pdf.

###

Office of Media Relations: (202) 418-0500

TTY: (888) 835-5322

Twitter: @FCC

www.fcc.gov/office-media-relations

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order

constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/chairman-challenges-industry-adopt-theft-p...
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