Excerpts from the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 Introduction The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Pub- lic Law 99-508 (H.R. 4952), was enacted by Congress October 21, 1986. It is ``an Act to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the interception of certain communica- tions, other forms of surveillance, and for other pur- poses.'' This Act contains several parts which could affect Purdue staff members involved in the operation and mainte- nance of the academic computer systems, as well as the users of these systems. This paper lists several excerpts from this Act which directly pertain to electronic communication as supplied by Purdue's academic computing systems. Note that under no circumstances should this document be taken as a statement of the laws of the United States of America. Questions of legality should be addressed to appropriate legal counsel. This paper's purpose is informational only. Section 2511. Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter and person who- (a) intentionally intercepts, endeavors to inter- cept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication; ..... (c) intentionally discloses, or endeavors to dis- close, 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 communi- cation in violation of this subsection; or (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 subsec- tion; shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. (2)(a)(i) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for an operator of a switchboard, or an officer, employee, or agent of a provider of wire or electronic communication service, whose facilities are used in the transmission of a wire communication, to intercept, disclose, or use that com- munication 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. ..... (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 intercep- tion unless such communication is intercepted for the pur- pose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State. ..... (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 communica- tion made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public; ..... (h) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter- ..... (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 ser- vice toward the completion of the wire or electronic communication, or a user of that service, from fraudu- lent, unlawful or abusive use of such service. ..... (3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this sub- section, a person or entity providing an electronic communi- cation 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 communica- tion service to the public may divulge the contents of any such communication- (i) as otherwise authorized in section 2511(2)(a) or 2517 or this title; (ii) with the lawful consent of the originator or any addressee or intended recipient of such communica- tion; (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 ser- vice provider and which appear to pertain to the commis- sion of a crime, if such divulgence is made to a law enforcement agency. (4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this sub- section 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. ..... Section 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 vio- lation such relief as may be appropriate. (b) RELIEF.- In an action under this section, appropri- ate 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 litiga- tion costs reasonably incurred. ..... (c) ..... (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 sub- poena, a legislative authorization, or a statutory authorization; (2) a request of an investigative or law enforce- ment 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. ..... Section 2701. Unlawful access to stored communications (a) OFFENSE.- Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section whoever- (1) intentionally accesses without authorization a facility through which an electronic communication ser- vice is provided; or (2) intentionally exceeds an authorization to access that facility; and thereby obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while it is in elec- tronic storage in such system shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) PUNISHMENT.- The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) of this section is- (1) if the offense is committed for purposes of commercial advantage, malicious destruction or damage, or private commercial gain- (A) a fine of not more than $250,000 or impris- onment for not more than one year, or both, in the case of a first offense under this subparagraph; and (B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, for any subsequent offense under this subparagraph; and (2) a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, in any other case. (c) EXCEPTIONS.- Subsection (a) of this section does not apply with respect to conduct authorized- (1) by the person or entity providing a wire or electronic communication service; (2) by a user of that service with respect to a communication of or intended for that user; or (3) in section 2703, 2704, or 2518 of this title. Section 2702. Disclosure of contents (a) PROHIBITIONS.- Except as provided in subsection (b)- (1) a person or entity providing an electronic com- munication service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the contents of a com- munication while in electronic storage by that service; and (2) a person or entity providing remote computing service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the contents of any communication which is carried or maintained on that service- (A) on behalf of, and received by means of electronic transmission from (or created by means of computer processing of communications received by means of electronic transmission from), a subscriber or customer of such service; and (B) solely for the purpose of providing storage or computer processing services to such subscriber or customer, if the provider is not authorized to access the contents of any such communications for purposes of providing any services other than storage or computer processing. (b) EXCEPTIONS.- A person or entity may divulge the contents of a communication- (1) to an addressee or intended recipient of such communication or an agent of such addressee or intended recipient; (2) as otherwised authorized in section 2516, 2511(2)(a), or 2703 of this title; (3) with the lawful consent of the originator or an addressee or intended recipient of such communication, or the subscriber in the case of remote computing ser- vice; (4) to a person employed or authorized or whose facilities are used to forward such communication to its destination; (5) as may be necessarily incident to the rendition of the service or to the protection of the rights or property of that service; or (6) to a law enforcement agency, if such contents- (A) were inadvertently obtained by the service provider; and (B) appear to pertain to the commission of a crime. Section 2703. Requirements for governmental access ..... (e) NO CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST A PROVIDER DISCLOSING INFORMATION UNDER THIS CHAPTER.- No cause of action shall lie in any court against any provider of wire or electronic communication service, its officers, employees, agents, or other specified persons for providing information, facili- ties, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a court order, warrant, subpoena, or certification under this chapter. Section 2707. Civil action (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.- Except as provided in section 2703(e), any provider of electronic communication service, subscriber, or customer aggrieved by any violation of this chapter in which the conduct constituting the violation is engaged in with a knowing or intentional state of mind 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 a civil 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 (3) a reasonable attorney's fee and other litiga- tion costs reasonably incurred. (c) DAMAGES.- The court may assess as damages in a civil action under this section the sum of the actual dam- ages suffered by the plaintiff and any profits made by the violator as a result of the violation, but in no case shall a person entitled to recover receive less than the sum of $1,000. (d) DEFENSE.- A good faith reliance on- (1) a court warrant or order, a grand jury sub- poena, a legislative authorization, or a statutory authorization; (2) a request of an investigative or law enforce- ment 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 to 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 discovered or had a reasonable opportunity to discover the violation. Definitions As used in this chapter- ..... (4) ``intercept'' means the aural or other acquisi- tion of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechan- ical, or other device; ..... (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 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, electronic, or oral communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport, or mean- ing of that communication; ..... (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, photoelec- tronic, or photooptical system that affects interstate or foreign commerce, but does not include- (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 photoelec- tronic 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; .....