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Montana bill would bar remote "kill switches" on personally owned devices without a warrant
Summary
Sen. Ken Bogner told the House Energy Committee SB 364 would forbid companies from remotely disabling personally owned devices without a warrant while allowing narrow exemptions for leased property, retail installment and similar creditor agreements; proponents from the auto industry sought explicit exemptions for starter-interrupt devices used in subprime contracts.
Sen. Ken Bogner opened the House Energy Committee hearing on Senate Bill 364 by defining a "kill switch" as "a mechanism that can be used to remotely shut down a product, speed up draining the product's battery, or shorten the lifespan of the software." He said the bill would "prevent companies, entities, from using a kill switch on an individual's personally owned property without a warrant."
The bill’s sponsor said the statute would not apply to leased property, employer-owned equipment, subscription products or recurring-payment programs until the consumer obtains full ownership. He told the committee an amendment is forthcoming to clarify…
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