City Council gives preliminary OK to bill banning cash-for-phone machines

City Council has given preliminary approval to a bill banning ecoATM kiosks, the machines that dispense cash in exchange for mobile phones.
The Baltimore Brew reports:

With some 650 kiosks located in malls across the country, ecoATM has argued that its product has numerous safeguards – including a photo ID and thumbprint reader – that make it a greater deterrent to thieves than many other places where stolen phones can be sold.
The measure approved last night on second reader was strengthened by a set of amendments giving police the right to seize APMs that violate the law.

A spate of mobile phone robberies in Baltimore city this summer has led some to believe that such cash-for-phone machines offer incentives to would-be thieves, which is ultimately the impetus behind the ban the City Council appears poised to formally approve.
Read the full story on Baltimore Brew.