Microsoft, Google not doing enough on phone thefts, says San Francisco district attorney

San Francisco's district attorney says he's optimistic that Apple and Samsung are making progress on a system that would render stolen smartphones unusable, but the same isn't true of Microsoft and Google.
On Thursday representatives of Apple and Samsung visited George Gascón at his office in San Francisco to demonstrate their work.

The four major players in the smartphone industry have come under pressure from the law enforcement community, led by Gascón and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, to do something about the increasing number of smartphone thefts across the U.S. The thefts often involve force and violence and in many cases phone users are threatened with guns or knives. On at least one occasion, a phone user was killed for their iPhone.

Apple's response has been an activation lock that requires a user ID and password to reset or reactivate a phone that has been locked, disabled or wiped. Samsung is installing "Lojack for Mobile Devices" on new models of its Galaxy S4.

Embedded in the phone's firmware, the system allows owners to tracks the position of stolen devices when they connect to a network. The company will also work with law enforcement to help get the phone returned and to build a case against the person who stole it, said John Livingstone, CEO of Vancouver-based Absolute Software, which makes the Lojack software system.

Because of its place in the low-level code inside the phone, Livingstone said the Lojack software "will survive most any and all ROM reflashes and attempts to root the device."

"I have to say, there are clear improvements in the technology we saw, both with the new Galaxy phones and the iOS 7 operating system," Gascón said in an interview Friday. "I think there is still work that needs to be done. We want to make sure the manufacturers supply what we call a persistent, universal system that has a kill switch that is free to the consumer."

Samsung's current system costs users an annual $30 subscription and Gascón said he "made very clear" to the company that it "needs to be made available free to the consumer."

At the meeting Thursday, state and federal security experts attempted to circumvent the antitheft features, as a thief might if the phone was stolen. The DA's office said it wasn't ready to release details of those tests, in part because some of the software involved is still under development.

When asked if he believed Apple and Samsung have heard his message on smartphone thefts, Gascón said he thinks that is the case.

"I am not sure that's still the answer with Google and Microsoft and that's why we're going to continue to insist and work with them to move them forward," he said.

Asked if Absolute Software was talking with the two on the Lojack software, CEO Livingstone said his company is "happy to continue to have discussions with Google and Microsoft."

Whatever the current state of development, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Google have the same deadline.
"We expect these technological solutions to be available to the public next year and we are going to be holding firm to that demand," he said.

If the companies don't make progress, he held open the option of legislative and judicial moves against the companies. New York State AG Schneiderman has already hinted at as much, citing two parts of state law that deal with deceptive trade practices when he first contacted them about his concerns.

Another option is monetary. Gascón also said he is looking to get the support of those that control major publicly -owned investment funds.

"If we have actors within the industry that refuse to move forward, then we should look at divesting public investments from these companies," he said. "I hope we will get voluntary industry compliance."

Plaintiffs in Gay Marriage Case Wed in San Francisco, Los Angeles

The lead plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban tied the knot at San Francisco City Hall and at Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, within a few hours after a federal appeals court freed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses for the first time in 4 1/2 years.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris presided at the wedding of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, of Berkeley, as hundreds of supporters looked on and cheered. The couple sued to overturn the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban along with Jeff Katami and Paul Zarrillo, who were married in a ceremony led by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Los Angeles City Hall.

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"By joining the case against Proposition 8, they represented thousands of couples like themselves in their fight for marriage equality," Harris, who had asked the appeals court to act swiftly, said during Stier and Perry's brief ceremony. "Through the ups and downs, the struggles and the triumphs, they came out victorious."

Harris declared Perry, 48, and Stier, 50, "spouses for life," but during their vows, they took each other as "lawfully wedded wife." One of their twin sons served as ring-bearer.  Villaraigosa praised Katami and Zarrillo for fighting for "dignity and liberty for all."  "How you are looking at each other today, you are just as in love today as you were when you met 12 years ago," the mayor said before reading the vows.

Although the two couples have fought for the right to wed for years, their weddings came together in a flurry when a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order Friday afternoon dissolving, "effective immediately," a stay it imposed on gay marriages while the lawsuit challenging the ban advanced through the courts.

"I can tell you this," said Katami on a press call Friday afternoon. "Equal feels different. We woke up on Thursday and this morning feeling like full citizens. We'll be able to call each other 'husband.' We are very happy that this day is here."

Sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban called the appeals court's swift action "outrageous."

"The resumption of same-sex marriage this day has been obtained by illegitimate means. If our opponents rejoice in achieving their goal in a dishonorable fashion, they should be ashamed," said Andy Pugno, general counsel for a coalition of religious conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8.

"It remains to be seen whether the fight can go on, but either way, it is a disgraceful day for California," Pugno said.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Proposition 8's sponsors lacked authority to defend the measure in court once Harris and Gov. Jerry Brown, both Democrats, refused to do so.

The decision lets stand a trial judge's declaration that the ban, approved by voters in November 2008, violates the civil rights of gay Californians and cannot be enforced.

Under Supreme Court rules, the losing side in a legal dispute has 25 days to ask the high court to rehear the case. The court said earlier this week that it would not finalize its ruling in the Proposition 8 case until after that time had elapsed.

It was not immediately clear whether the appeals court's action would be halted by the high court, but Gov. Jerry Brown directed California counties to start performing same-sex marriages immediately in the wake of it.

One of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Ted Boutrous, had very strong words for the Proposition 8 sponsors:  "They should hang it up and and quit trying to stop people from getting married. The law of the land in California is people can get married. They're getting married."

A memo from Brown's Department of Public Health said "same-sex marriage is again legal in California" and ordered county clerks to resume issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Given that word did not come down from the appeals court until mid-afternoon, most counties were not prepared to stay open late to accommodate potential crowds. The clerks in a few counties announced that they would stay open a few hours later Friday.

A jubilant San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced that same-sex couples would be able to marry all weekend in his city, which is hosting its annual gay pride celebration this weekend.