Let the market decide. Some companies provide that service already, and others don't. If you want to be able to disable a stolen phone, sign up with a company that provides that service. If you don't care, choose any phone service you want. My guess is that if enough people ask their cell phone carrier if they have this service, or better yet, ask before signing a contract with anyone, all carriers will eventually offer the remote deactivation service.
The Smartphone Theft Prevention Act would require all phones sold in the United States to include kill switch type technology free of charge that would allow the consumer to wipe their personal data off the phone, render the phone permanently inoperable to anyone but the owner, and prevent it from being reactivated on a network by anyone but the owner. More: klobuchar.senate.gov.
Reporting to your phone company that the phone is stolen can take it out of service.
Many already have this ability, some telecoms are dragging their feet, that's what should be fixed.
The government doesn't want this for theft prevention, they want it for crowd control and to be able to target anybody they don't like.
Since you can already get apps on both Android and IOS that effectively find, track and also remotely erase your data on a 'lost' phone, I would have to say you do have a point. It can, and if implemented it probably will be used to do so. But that being said, I don't believe in the 'conspiracy' when bloated bureaucracy can explain most actions of government. Most laws are not put in place to protect people who are aware and proactive enough to protect themselves, they are put in place to protect the lazy from the unethical. It's the '10% of the population are jerks' tax we are paying with this law, and the telecoms are dragging their feet for two reasons, cost and difficulty of implementing change, both will effect their bottom line, which is their only real motivator. Additionally it might reduce the amount of phones that are sold.
I don't downvote opposing viewpoints, as they add to the discussion.
I support the idea behind this bill/law, but don't think it should be a congressional matter... unless of course some congressman's, or congresswoman's, son or daughter has had their phone boosted at school, in which case, by all means, let's make this a matter of national urgency.
This reeks of corporate involvement and should be avoided at all costs.
Realistically this bill has both advantages and disadvantages as it could help many keep their information safe, but it could also be quite a hassle if the owner accidentally activates said "kill-switch" technology and wipes their phone.