A recent Consumer Reports survey found 3.1 million Americans had cellphones stolen in 2013, almost double the 1.6 million thefts reported in 2012.

As K&L Gates associate Nickolas Milonas and summer associate Joy Tsai explain on TMT Law Watch, in an effort to deter thefts, Minnesota recently passed a cellphone kill-switch law. The law requires that all smartphones sold in the state after July 1, 2015, include a security feature that allows owners to remotely disable their lost or stolen phones.