The rise in violent cellphone thefts is increasing pressure from Congress for phone companies to add an anti-theft kill switch feature on tablets and smartphones, so a group of businesses made a voluntary pledge to add such technology to phones sold in the U.S. by July 2015.

Four Democratic senators including Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., have introduced a bill to require wireless companies to install a “kill switch” feature allowing users to erase and shut down stolen devices, following up on a bill introduced by California state lawmakers in Sacramento.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/16/companies-to-add-phone-kill-switch-after-july-2015