Cybertelecom
Cybertelecom
Federal Internet Law & Policy
An Educational Project
Privacy :: FCC Dont be a FOOL; The Law is Not DIY


Laws

Unauthorized Publication of Communications, Telecom Act Sec. 705, 47 USC § 605 | FCC Fact Sheet

(a) Except as authorized by chapter 119 [ECPA], title 18, United States Code, no person receiving, assisting in receiving, transmitting, or assisting in transmitting, any interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio shall divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning thereof, except through authorized channels of transmission or reception,

(1) to any person other than the addressee, his agent, or attorney,

(2) to a person employed or authorized to forward such communication to its destination,

(3) to proper accounting or distributing officers of the various communicating centers over which the communication may be passed,

(4) to the master of a ship under whom he is serving,

(5) in response to a subpena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(6) on demand of other lawful authority. No person not being authorized by the sender shall intercept any radio communication and divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of such intercepted communication to any person. No person not being entitled thereto shall receive or assist in receiving any interstate or foreign communication by radio and use such communication (or any information therein contained) for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto. No person having received any intercepted radio communication or having become acquainted with the contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of such communication (or any part thereof) knowing that such communication was intercepted, shall divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of such communication (or any part thereof) or use such communication (or any information therein contained) for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto. This section shall not apply to the receiving, divulging, publishing, or utilizing the contents of any radio communication which is transmitted by any station for the use of the general public, which relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress, or which is transmitted by an amateur radio station operator or by a citizens band radio operator

Legislative History / Wiretap Act

  • Amended by Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968, Pub.L. No. 90-351, § 803, 82 Stat. 223 (1968)
  • 1985 ECPA Report p 18:

"Congress did not play an active or effective role in surveillance policy until 1968. Prior to that time, the only legislation affecting official use of surveillance technology was unintended. In 1934, Congress remodified the Radio Act of 1927 as the Communications Act. Section 605 of the 1934 Act provided that “No person not being authorized by the sender shall intercept any communication and divulge . . . the contents. ” There was no specific legislative history for this section and it appears that the 1934 bill was not intended to change existing law. (See: S. Rep. No. 781, 73 Cong., 2d sess. 11 (1934)) This was the interpretation until 1938 when the Supreme Court, in Nardone v. United States, 302 U.S. 379, ruled that Section 605 prohibited all telephone wiretapping, even when done by Federal Government officers. In response, bills passed both houses of Congress allowing wiretapping under certain circumstances and with certain procedural requirements. But the session ended before the conference committee could resolve a difference between the two bills-the House bill explicitly criminalized unauthorized official surveillance. S. Rep. No. 1790, 75th Cong., 3d sess. 3 (1938), reprinted in 1914-59 Leg. Hist. 961. "Despite Congress’s failure to overrule Nardone by legislation, wiretapping continued because the Justice Department construed Section 605 as not prohibiting wiretapping itself, but only the interception and subsequent divulgence outside the Federal establishment. Additionally, the President issued an Executive order to allow wiretapping for national security purposes. "In the immediate post-war period, numerous bills authorizing electronic surveillance were introduced, but none was enacted into law. Starting in 1960, electronic surveillance became a major public issue and congressional activity became more focused and purposeful. The target was organized crime, a major priority of the Kennedy Administration. "The first major congressional action regarding surveillance was Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968." ECPA Replaces Sec. 605

  • Watkins v. L. M. Barry& Co., 704 F.2d 577 (5th Cir. 1983)
  • United States v. Hall, 488 F.2d 193 (9th Cir, 1973). 

Caselaw

  • Hodge v. Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co., 555 F. 2d 254, 261- Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 1977 " Congress intended the amended § 605 to be a "substitute" for the pre-1968 § 605, not merely a "reenactment." S.Rep. No. 1097, supra, at 107 "
  • "Congress intended to shift all control of electronic surveillance operations to 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2520." United States v. Falcone, 505 F.2d at 482
  • United States v. Russo, 250 F.Supp. 55, 58-59 (E.D.Pa.1966), the first clause of § 605 was not intended to prohibit the interception of wire communications, it was "designed to apply to persons such as telegram or radiogram operators, who must either learn the content of the message or handle a written record of communications in the course of their employment. Clause 1 recognizes that the integrity of the communication system demands that the public be assured that employees who thus come to know the content of messages will in no way breach the trust which such knowledge imposes on them."
  • Nardone v. United States, 302 U.S. 379 (1937) Court ruled that Section 605 prohibited telephone wiretapping by anyone, including Federal Government officers

Proceedings

Workshops

PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 0500
445 12th St., S.W.
Comments Due: July 8, 2011
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D.C. 20554
1-888-835-5322
DA 11-857
Released: May 17, 2011
FCC STAFF TO HOST FORUM AIMED AT HELPING CONSUMERS
NAVIGATE LOCATION-BASED SERVICES
WT Docket No. 11-84
Forum Date: June 28, 2011

Govt Activity

Timeline

Papers

© Cybertelecom ::