The Honorable Tom Wheeler
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12thStreet SW
Washington, DC 20554
WASHINGTON. DC 2(}S'9
AMY KLOBUCHAR
MINNESOTA
COMMITTEES:
AGRICULTURE. NUTRITION.
AND FORESTRY
COMMERCE. SCIENCE.
AND TRANSPORTATlO~~
JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
JUDICIARY
RULES AND ADMINISTRATION July 21, 2015
Dear Chairman Wheeler:
Thank you for your continued attention to the issue of mobile device theft. July 1 marked the
compliance date for the Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment as well as the
implementation of the California and Minnesota laws. While industry groups have said that they
are in compliance, I urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remain diligent and
to continue working on ways to combat smartphone theft.
By installing "kill switches" on smartphones we are deterring theft. The Consumer Reports
National Research Center recently found that 2.1 million Americans had their phones stolen last
year. While this is still a significant number, this is a 32 percent decrease from 2013.
Additionally, places like New York City and San Francisco have also seen decreasing rates of
stolen iPhones since Apple first began installing anti-theft protections. While I am pleased that
so much progress is being made, I will continue to fight for consumers and their safety in
Congress.
I applaud the partnerships between industry and law enforcement to educate consumers about
how to protect themselves and their information and am encouraged by CTIA's commitment to
continuing these efforts. Additionally, I applaud the work that the FCC's Technical Advisory
Committee (TAC) has done in identifying additional ways for the industry to protect consumers.
I urge the industry and the Commission to act on some of the TAC's additional
recommendations, including exploring option to have unique identifiers on mobile devices to
help track stolen phones.
We need to continue to ensure that manufacturers and carriers are compliant with the voluntary
agreement and state laws. I hope the FCC will not let this issue rest and will continue to make
progress and I offer my assistance in these endeavors. Please feel free to contact my office with
any updates as you continue your work on this important issue.
Sincerely,