O FF ICE OF THE CHAIRMAN FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON August 20, 2015 The Honorable Amy Klobuchar United States Senate 302 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Klobuchar: Thank you for your letter acknowledging the Commission's and the Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) ongoing work to combat mobile device theft and urging us to continue building upon the progress already made. Your attention to and leadership on this issue play a critical role in encouraging stakeholders to address this problem and protect consumers. I want to assure you that we will continue to make progress on this important issue. In April of this year, I requested that the TAC's Mobile Device Theft Prevention Working Group (Working Group) focus its work on three specific issues: 1. Making recommendations to expand and improve use of on-device features like the ability to lock, wipe, or restore a device remotely (all of which are components of the "kill switch" approach you mention in your letter); 2. Assessing whether and how to harden unique smart-device identification numbers to prevent them from being "wiped" from stolen phones; and 3. Identifying the key characteristics of an effective stolen phones database that could be used to prevent stolen devices from accessing networks. On June 11, 2015, the Working Group presented recommendations related to on-device features, including a recommendation that these features be activated on an "opt-out" basis. That same day, I called on the wireless industry to voluntarily support the Working Group's opt-out recommendation, under which theft-prevention features would be activated on all mobile phones by default and require consumers to take affirmative steps to disable them. We continue to work closely with industry stakeholders to ensure that they implement this recommendation promptly on a nationwide basis. The Working Group is continuing to assess the other issues I identified in April, and it intends to issue recommendations related to a stolen phones database in October. While we also are pleased to see the declining stolen phone figures you highlight in your letter, we agree that cell phone theft continues to be a real and significant problem for consumers across the country. Greater action by and collaboration among industry, law enforcement and consumers is necessary to ensure the safety of all Americans who use these devices. I am pleased with the valuable steps industry has already taken and their commitment to continue to Page 2-The Honorable Amy Klobuchar make improvements consistent with the Working Group's recommendations. We will continue to work directly with the Working Group and industry as a whole to ensure they meet their commitments. I appreciate your ongoing interest and leadership in this matter. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.