18 U.S.C. § 2512 — Manufacture, distribution, possession, and advertising of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices prohibited

submitted 58 years ago by Pub. L. 90-351 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 472 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law bans making, selling, sending, or advertising devices built mainly to secretly intercept phone or electronic communications. Violators can be fined or imprisoned up to 5 years. Communication providers and government employees acting in their normal duties are exempt.

This section makes it a federal crime to make, sell, or advertise devices built mainly for secretly intercepting other people's communications.

(1) It's a crime to intentionally do any of these three things, unless another part of this chapter specifically allows it: (a) mail a device, or send or carry it across state or national lines, knowing or having reason to know it's mainly designed for secretly intercepting wire, oral, or electronic communications; (b) manufacture, assemble, possess, or sell such a device, knowing or having reason to know it's mainly designed for secret interception, and knowing or having reason to know that the device or one of its parts has been or will be mailed or shipped across state or national lines; or (c) advertise such a device — in a newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publication, or electronically. This covers two situations: advertising a device you know or have reason to know is mainly designed for secret interception, and advertising any other device in a way that promotes using it for secret interception, when you know the ad's content and know or have reason to know it will be mailed or transported across state or national lines. Breaking this rule carries a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.

(2) None of this applies to a company that provides wire or electronic communication service — or its officer, agent, employee, or contractor — doing these things as a normal part of running that service, or to an officer, agent, employee, or contractor of the federal government, a state, or a local government, doing these things as a normal part of official government activities. Either group can mail, ship, manufacture, assemble, possess, or sell these devices without breaking this section.

(3) It's also not illegal to advertise one of these devices for sale if the ad is mailed, sent, or carried across state or national lines only to a domestic wire or electronic communication service provider, or to a government agency officially authorized to use the device.

facts

- Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2512, part of the federal criminal code chapter governing wire and electronic communications interception. - Originally enacted by Pub. L. 90–351, title III, § 802, on June 19, 1968 (82 Stat. 214). - Contains 472 words and establishes three subsections addressing prohibited conduct, exceptions for service providers/government, and advertising exceptions. - Amended seven times, most recently by Pub. L. 115–278 in 2018, with intervening amendments from Pub. L. 99–508 (1986), Pub. L. 103–322 (1994), Pub. L. 104–294 (1996), Pub. L. 105–112 (1997), and Pub. L. 107–296 (2002). - Source credit reflects six distinct amending public laws following the original enactment.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(1)

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, any person who intentionally—

(a)

sends through the mail, or sends or carries in interstate or foreign commerce, any electronic, mechanical, or other device, knowing or having reason to know that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications;

(b)

manufactures, assembles, possesses, or sells any electronic, mechanical, or other device, knowing or having reason to know that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, and that such device or any component thereof has been or will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or

(c)

places in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publication or disseminates by electronic means any advertisement of—

(i)

any electronic, mechanical, or other device knowing or having reason to know that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications; or

(ii)

any other electronic, mechanical, or other device, where such advertisement promotes the use of such device for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications,

knowing the content of the advertisement and knowing or having reason to know that such advertisement will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(2)

It shall not be unlawful under this section for—

(a)

a provider of wire or electronic communication service or an officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract with, such a provider, in the normal course of the business of providing that wire or electronic communication service, or

(b)

an officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract with, the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof, in the normal course of the activities of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof,

to send through the mail, send or carry in interstate or foreign commerce, or manufacture, assemble, possess, or sell any electronic, mechanical, or other device knowing or having reason to know that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications.

(3)

It shall not be unlawful under this section to advertise for sale a device described in subsection (1) of this section if the advertisement is mailed, sent, or carried in interstate or foreign commerce solely to a domestic provider of wire or electronic communication service or to an agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof which is duly authorized to use such device.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 90–351, title III, § 802, June 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 214; amended Pub. L. 99–508, title I, § 101(c)(1)(A), (7), (f)(2), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1851, 1853; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §§ 330016(1)(L), 330022, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147, 2150; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 604(b)(45), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3509; Pub. L. 105–112, § 2, Nov. 21, 1997, 111 Stat. 2273; Pub. L. 107–296, title XXII, § 2207(f), formerly title II, § 225(f), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2158, renumbered § 2207(f), Pub. L. 115–278, § 2(g)(2)(I), Nov. 16, 2018, 132 Stat. 4178.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1968Enacted · Pub. L. 90-351 · 82 Stat. 214
1986Amended · Pub. L. 99-508 · 100 Stat. 1851, 1853
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2147, 2150
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-294 · 110 Stat. 3509
1997Amended · Pub. L. 105-112 · 111 Stat. 2273
2002Amended · Pub. L. 107-296 · 116 Stat. 2158

The record establishes that this section was added by Public Law 90–351, title III, § 802, enacted June 19, 1968, and published at 82 Stat. 214. The source credit identifies subsequent amendments in 1986 (Pub. L. 99–508), 1994 (Pub. L. 103–322), 1996 (Pub. L. 104–294), 1997 (Pub. L. 105–112), and 2002 (Pub. L. 107–296, later renumbered by Pub. L. 115–278 in 2018). This amendment history reflects seven separate legislative actions touching the section over five decades, indicating recurring congressional attention to its terms. Historical context: Public Law 90–351 is the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and Title III of that Act is commonly known as the federal wiretapping law. The Act is generally understood to have been enacted amid concerns in the 1960s over rising crime rates, law enforcement practices, and the unregulated use of electronic surveillance technology, and Title III specifically is commonly cited as Congress's effort to establish a comprehensive framework governing the interception of wire and oral communications, balancing law enforcement needs against privacy interests. The prohibition on manufacturing, distributing, and advertising interception devices is consistent with that broader statutory purpose of curbing surreptitious surveillance capabilities in private hands. Beyond this general understanding of Title III's purpose, the record does not establish the specific legislative rationale for the particular provisions of this section, nor does it document the purposes behind each individual amendment listed above. No conclusions beyond this general historical framing should be drawn from the available record.

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