By signing in to a law a bill that requires anti-theft kill switches on smartphones, California Gov. Jerry Brown has set what will likely be a nationwide standard for wireless devices shipped across the nation. The law, which Brown signed Monday, takes effect in July 2015. It requires smartphones sold in the state to come with a built-in technology that allows a person to remotely erase the information from their phone or render it unusable if their phone is stolen. That ruins the phone’s resale value, which is the main reason smartphones get swiped. A key feature of the California law requires manufacturers to ship their products to the state with the kill-switch technology automatically activated. Because California, with its 38 million residents, is the nations biggest cellphone market and a major hub of the tech industry, the new rule is expected to set a precedent that will roll across the country.