ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 18. CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 119--WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION AND
INTERCEPTION OF ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
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Sec. 2510. Definitions
As used in this chapter--
(1) "wire communication" means any aural transfer made in
whole or in part through the use of facilities for the
transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or
other like connection between the point of origin and the point
of reception (including the use of such connection in a switching
station) furnished or operated by any person engaged in providing
or operating such facilities for the transmission of interstate
or foreign communications for communications affecting interstate
or foreign commerce and such term includes any electronic storage
of such communication;
(2) "oral communication" means any oral communication uttered
by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is
not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such
expectation, but such term does not include any electronic
communication;
(3) "State" means any State of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any
territory or possession of the United States;
(4) "intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the
contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through
the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device;
(5) "electronic, mechanical, or other device" means any
device or apparatus which can be used to intercept a wire, oral,
or electronic communication other than--
(a) any telephone or telegraph instrument, equipment or
facility, or any component thereof, (I) furnished to the
subscriber or user by a provider of wire or electronic
communication service in the ordinary course of its business and
being used by the subscriber or user in the ordinary course of
its business or furnished by such subscriber or user for
connection to the facilities of such service and used in the
ordinary course of its business; or (ii) being used by a
provider of wire or electronic communication service in the
ordinary course of its business, or by an investigative or law
enforcement officer in the ordinary course of his duties;
(b) a hearing aid or similar device being used to
correct subnormal hearing to not better than normal;
(6) "person" means any employee, or agent of the United
States or any State or political subdivision thereof, and any
individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust,
or corporation;
(7) "Investigative or law enforcement officer" means any
officer of the United States or of a State or political
subdivision thereof, who is empowered by law to conduct
investigations of or to make arrests for offenses enumerated in
this chapter, and any attorney authorized by law to prosecute or
participate in the prosecution of such offenses;
(8) "contents", when used with respect to any wire, oral, or
electronic communication, includes any information concerning the
substance, purport, or meaning of that communication;
(9) "Judge of competent jurisdiction" means -
(a) a judge of a United States district court or a
United States court of appeals; and
(b) a judge of any court of general criminal
jurisdiction of a State who is authorized by a statute of that
State to enter orders authorizing interceptions of wire, oral, or
electronic communications;
(10) "communication common carrier" shall have the same
meaning which is given the term "common carrier" by section
153(h) of title 47 of the United States Code;
(11) "aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to any
intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication or a person
against whom the interception was directed;
(12) "electronic communication" means any transfer of
signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of
any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system that
affects interstate or foreign commerce, but does not include--
(A) any wire or oral communication;
(B) any communication made through a tone-only paging
device; or
(C) any communication from a tracking device (as defined in
section 3117 of this title);
(13) "user" means any person or entity who--
(A) uses an electronic communication service; and
(B) is duly authorized by the provider of such service
to engage in such use;
(14) "electronic communications system" means any wire,
radio, electromagnetic, photooptical or photoelectronic
facilities for the transmission of electronic communications, and
any computer facilities or related electronic equipment for the
electronic storage of such communications;
(15) "electronic communication service" means any service
which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive
wire or electronic communications;
(16) "readily accessible to the general public" means, with
respect to a radio communication, that such communication is
not--
(A) scrambled or encrypted:
(B) transmitted using modulation techniques whose
essential parameters have been withheld from the public with the
intention of preserving the privacy of such communication;
(C) carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary
to a radio transmission;
(D) transmitted over a communication system provided by
a common carrier, unless the communication is a tone only paging
system communication;
(E) transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25,
subpart D, E, or F of part 74, or part 94 of the Rules of the
Federal Communications Commission, unless, in the case of a
communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74
that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary
services, the communication is a two-way voice communication by
radio; or
(F) an electronic communication;
(17) "electronic storage" means--
(A) any temporary, intermediate storage of a wire or
electronic communication incidental to the electronic
transmission thereof; and
(B) any storage of such communication by an electronic
communication service for purposes of backup protection of such
communication; and
(18) "aural transfer" means a transfer containing the human
voice at any point between and including the point of origin and
the point of reception.
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Sec. 2511. Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or
electronic communications prohibited
(1) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter
any person who -
(a) intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or
procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept,
any wire, oral, or electronic communication;
(b) intentionally uses, endeavors to use, or procures
any other person to use or endeavor to use any electronic,
mechanical, or other device to intercept any oral communication
when -
(i) such device is affixed to, or otherwise
transmits a signal through, a wire, cable, or other like
connection used in wire communication; or
(ii) such device transmits communications by
radio, or interferes with the transmission of such communication;
or
(iii) such person knows, or has reason to know,
that such device or any component thereof has been sent through
the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or
(iv) such use or endeavor to use (A) takes place
on the premises of any business or other commercial establishment
the operations of which affect interstate or foreign commerce;
or (B) obtains or is for the purpose of obtaining information
relating to the operations of any business or other commercial
establishment the operations of which affect interstate or
foreign commerce; or
(v) such person acts in the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession
of the United States;
(c) intentionally discloses, or endeavors to
disclose, to any other person the contents of any wire, oral, or
electronic communication, knowing or having reason to know that
the information was obtained through the interception of a wire,
oral, or electronic communication in violation of this
subsection;
(d) intentionally uses, or endeavors to use, the
contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, knowing
or having reason to know that the information was obtained
through the interception of a wire, oral, or electronic
communication in violation of this subsection; or
(e) (i) intentionally discloses, or endeavors to disclose,
to any other person the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic
communication, intercepted by means authorized by sections
2511(2)(A)(ii), 2511(b)-(c), 2511(e), 2516, and 2518 of this
subchapter, (ii) knowing or having reason to know that the
information was obtained through the interception of such a
communication in connection with a criminal investigation, (iii)
having obtained or received the information in connection with a
criminal investigation, and (iv) with intent to improperly
obstruct, impede, or interfere with a duly authorized criminal
investigation,
shall be punished as provided in subsection (4) or shall be
subject to suit as provided in subsection (5).
(2)(a)(i) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for an
operator of a switchboard, or on officer, employee, or agent of a
provider of wire or electronic communication service, whose
facilities are used in the transmission of a wire or electronic
communication, to intercept, disclose, or use that communication
in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any
activity which is a necessary incident to the rendition of his
service or to the protection of the rights or property of the
provider of that service, except that a provider of wire
communication service to the public shall not utilize service
observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service
quality control checks.
(ii) Notwithstanding any other law, providers of wire or
electronic communication service, their officers, employees, and
agents, landlords, custodians, or other persons, are authorized
to provide information, facilities, or technical assistance to
persons authorized by law to intercept wire, oral, or electronic
communications or to conduct electronic surveillance, as defined
in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
1978, if such provider, its officers, employees, or agents,
landlord, custodian, or other specified person, has been provided
with--
(A) a court order directing such assistance signed by
the authorizing judge, or
(B) a certification in writing by a person specified in
section 2518(7) of this title or the Attorney General of the
United States that no warrant or court order is required by law,
that all statutory requirements have been met, and that the
specified assistance is required, setting forth the period of
time during which the provision of the information, facilities,
or technical assistance is authorized and specifying the
information, facilities, or technical assistance required. No
provider of wire or electronic communication service, officer,
employee, or agent thereof, or landlord, custodian, or other
specified person shall disclose the existence of any interception
or surveillance or the device used to accomplish the interception
or surveillance with respect to which the person has been
furnished a court order or certification under this chapter,
except as may otherwise be required by legal process and then
only after prior notification to the Attorney General or to the
principal prosecuting attorney of a State or any political
subdivision of a State, as may be appropriate. Any such
disclosure, shall render such person liable for the civil damages
provided for in section 2520. No cause of action shall lie in any
court against any provider of wire or electronic communication
service, its officers, employees, or agents, landlord, custodian,
or other specified person for providing information, facilities,
or assistance in accordance with the terms of a court order or
certification under this chapter.
(b) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for an
officer, employee, or agent of the Federal Communications
Commission, in the normal course of his employment and in
discharge of the monitoring responsibilities exercised by the
Commission in the enforcement of chapter 5 of title 47 of the
United States Code, to intercept a wire or electronic
communication, or oral communication transmitted by radio, or to
disclose or use the information thereby obtained.
(c) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a person
acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or
electronic communication, where such person is a party to the
communication or one of the parties to the communication has
given prior consent to such interception.
(d) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a person
not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or
electronic communication where such person is a party to the
communication or where one of the parties to the communication
has given prior consent to such interception unless such
communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any
criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws
of the United States or of any State.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title or
section 705 or 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, it shall
not be unlawful for an officer, employee, or agent of the United
States in the normal course of his official duty to conduct
electronic surveillance, as defined in section 101 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as authorized by that Act.
(f) Nothing contained in this chapter or chapter 121, or
section 705 of the Communications Act of 1934, shall be deemed to
affect the acquisition by the United States Government of foreign
intelligence information from international or foreign
communications, or foreign intelligence activities conducted in
accordance with otherwise applicable Federal law involving a
foreign electronic communications system, utilizing a means other
than electronic surveillance as defined in section 101 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and procedures in
this chapter and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
1978 shall be the exclusive means by which electronic
surveillance, as defined in section 101 of such Act, and the
interception of domestic wire and oral communications may be
conducted.
(g) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter or chapter 121
of this title for any person -
(i) to intercept or access an electronic
communication made through an electronic communication system
that is configured so that such electronic communication is
readily accessible to the general public;
(ii) to intercept any radio communication which is
transmitted -
(I) by any station for the use of the general
public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons
in distress;
(II) by any governmental, law enforcement,
civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety
communications system, including police and fire, readily
accessible to the general public;
(III) by a station operating on an authorized
frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens
band, or general mobile radio services; or
(IV) by any marine or aeronautical
communications system;
(iii) to engage in any conduct which -
(I) is prohibited by section 633 of the
Communications Act of 1934; or
(II) is excepted from the application of
section 705(a) of the Communications Act of 1934 by section
705(b) of that Act;
(iv) to intercept any wire or electronic
communication the transmission of which is causing harmful
interference to any lawfully operating station or consumer
electronic equipment, to the extent necessary to identify the
source of such interference; or
(v) for other users of the same frequency to
intercept any radio communication made through a system that
utilizes frequencies monitored by individuals engaged in the
provision or the use of such system, if such communication is not
scrambled or encrypted.
(h) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter -
(i) to use a pen register or a trap and trace
device (as those terms are defined for the purposes of chapter
206 (relating to pen registers and trap and trace devices) of
this title); or
(ii) for a provider of electronic communication
service to record the fact that a wire or electronic
communication was initiated or completed in order to protect such
provider, another provider furnishing service toward the
completion of the wire or electronic communication, or a user of
that service, from fraudulent, unlawful or abusive use of such
service.
(3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection,
a person or entity providing an electronic communication service
to the public shall not intentionally divulge the contents of any
communication (other than one to such person or entity, or an
agent thereof) while in transmission on that service to any
person or entity other than an addressee or intended recipient of
such communication or an agent of such addressee or intended
recipient.
(b) A person or entity providing electronic communication
service to the public may divulge the contents of any such
communication -
(i) as otherwise authorized in section 2511(2)(a)
or 2517 of this title;
(ii) with the lawful consent of the originator or
any addressee or intended recipient of such communication;
(iii) to a person employed or authorized, or whose
facilities are used, to forward such communication to its
destination; or
(iv) which were inadvertently obtained by the
service provider and which appear to pertain to the commission of
a crime, if such divulgence is made to a law enforcement agency.
(4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection
or in subsection (5), whoever violates subsection (1) of this
section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than five years, or both.
(b) If the offense is a first offense under paragraph (a) of
this subsection and is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or
for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or
private commercial gain, and the wire or electronic communication
with respect to which the offense under paragraph (a) is a radio
communication that is not scrambled, encrypted, or transmitted
using modulation techniques the essential parameters of which
have been withheld from the public with the intention of
preserving the privacy of such communication, then -
(i) if the communication is not the radio portion
of a cellular telephone communication, a cordless telephone
communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone
handset and the base unit, a public land mobile radio service
communication or a paging service communication, and the conduct
is not that described in subsection (5), the offender shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both; and
(ii) if the communication is the radio portion of
a cellular telephone communication, a cordless telephone
communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone
handset and the base unit, a public land mobile radio service
communication or a paging service communication, the offender
shall be fined under this title.
(c) Conduct otherwise an offense under this subsection that
consists of or relates to the interception of a satellite
transmission that is not encrypted or scrambled and that is
transmitted --
(i) to a broadcasting station for purposes of
retransmission to the general public; or
(ii) as an audio subcarrier intended for
redistribution to facilities open to the public, but not
including data transmissions or telephone calls, is not an
offense under this subsection unless the conduct is for the
purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private
financial gain.
(5)(a)(i) If the communication is --
(A) a private satellite video communication that
is not scrambled or encrypted and the conduct in violation of
this chapter is the private viewing of that communication and is
not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct
or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain; or
(B) a radio communication that is transmitted on
frequencies allocated under subpart D of part 74 of the rules of
the Federal Communications Commission that is not scrambled or
encrypted and the conduct in violation of this chapter is not for
a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or
indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain,
then the person who engages in such conduct shall be subject to
suit by the Federal Government in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(ii) In an action under this subsection--
(A) if the violation of this chapter is a first
offense for the person under paragraph (a) of subsection (4) and
such person has not been found liable in a civil action under
section 2520 of this title, the Federal Government shall be
entitled to appropriate injunctive relief; and
(B) if the violation of this chapter is a second
or subsequent offense under paragraph (a) of subsection (4) or
such person has been found liable in any prior civil action under
section 2520,
the person shall be subject to a mandatory $500 civil fine.
(b) The court may use any means within its authority to
enforce an injunction issued under paragraph (ii)(A), and shall
impose a civil fine of not less than $500 for each violation of
such an injunction.
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Sec. 2512. Manufacture, distribution, possession, and advertising
of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices
prohibited. (TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2513. Confiscation of wire, oral, or electronic
communication intercepting devices.
(TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2514. (REPEALED)
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Sec. 2515. Prohibition of use as evidence of intercepted wire or
oral communications
Whenever any wire or oral communication has been intercepted, no
part of the contents of such communication and no evidence
derived therefrom may be received in evidence in any trial,
hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, grand jury,
department, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative
committee, or other authority of the United States, a State, or a
political subdivision thereof if the disclosure of that
information would be in violation of this chapter.
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Sec. 2516. Authorization for interception of wire, oral, or
electronic communications.
(TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2517. Authorization for disclosure and use of intercepted
wire, oral, or electronic communications. (TEXT OF STATUTE
OMITTED)
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Sec. 2518. Procedure for interception of wire, oral, or
electronic communications.
(TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2519. Reports concerning intercepted wire, oral, or
electronic communications.
(TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2520. Recovery of civil damages authorized.
(a) In general. Except as provided in section 2511(2)(a)(ii),
any person whose wire, oral, or electronic communication is
intercepted, disclosed, or intentionally used in violation of
this chapter may in a civil action recover from the person or
entity which engaged in that violation such relief as may be
appropriate.
(b) Relief. In an action under this section, appropriate
relief includes--
(1) such preliminary and other equitable or declaratory
relief as may be appropriate;
(2) damages under subsection (c) and punitive damages in
appropriate cases; and
(3) a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs
reasonably incurred.
(c) Computation of damages.
(1) In an action under this section, if the conduct in
violation of this chapter is the private viewing of a private
satellite video communication that is not scrambled or encrypted
or if the communication is a radio communication that is
transmitted on frequencies allocated under subpart D of part 74
of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission that is not
scrambled or encrypted and the conduct is not for a tortious or
illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial
advantage or private commercial gain, then the court shall assess
damages as follows:
(A) If the person who engaged in that conduct has
not previously been enjoined under section 2511(5) and has not
been found liable in a prior civil action under this section, the
court shall assess the greater of the sum of actual damages
suffered by the plaintiff, or statutory damages of not less than
$50 and not more than $500.
(B) If, on one prior occasion, the person who
engaged in that conduct has been enjoined under section 2511(5)
or has been found liable in a civil action under this section,
the court shall assess the greater of the sum of actual damages
suffered by the plaintiff, or statutory damages of not less than
$100 and not more than $1000.
(2) In any other action under this section, the court may
assess as damages whichever is the greater of
(A) the sum of the actual damages suffered by the
plaintiff and any profits made by the violator as a result of the
violation; or
(B) statutory damages of whichever is the greater of
$100 a day for each day of violation or $10,000.
(d) Defense. A good faith reliance on --
(1) a court warrant or order, a grand jury subpoena, a
legislative authorization, or a statutory authorization;
(2) a request of an investigative or law enforcement officer
under section 2518(7) of this title; or
(3) a good faith determination that section 2511(3) of this
title permitted the conduct complained of;
is a complete defense against any civil or criminal action
brought under this chapter or any other law.
(e) Limitation. A civil action under this section may not be
commenced later than two years after the date upon which the
claimant first has a reasonable opportunity to discover the
violation.
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Sec. 2521. Injunction against illegal interception. (TEXT OF
STATUTE OMITTED)
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Sec. 2522. Enforcement of the communications assistance for law
enforcement act.
(TEXT OF STATUTE OMITTED)
