The interception of a private telephone call, electronic communication, or other form of communication without the consent of at least one party to the communication and without lawful legal authorization, such as a court ordered warrant, prosecuted as a distinct offense from other forms of unauthorized computer access because it specifically targets the interception of a communication in transit rather than access to stored data. Legal standards governing when interception is lawful vary considerably between jurisdictions, with some requiring the consent of all parties to a communication and others requiring only the consent of one party, and unlawful wiretapping has featured in a number of significant historical and contemporary political and corporate scandals, including cases connected to the Watergate scandal in the United States and later prosecutions of private investigators and journalists for the unlawful interception of voicemail messages.
Facts
Classification Code Typical Penaltyfined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both 1 Elements of Offenseintentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication 1 Notable ExampleThe Watergate break-in and its surveillance revelations 2 Jurisdiction VariationMost U.S. states are one-party consent for recording calls, twelve states require all-party consent 2 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. 18 U.S. Code section 2511, Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
Section 2511(1), offense clause
intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication
Section 2511(1)(a)
intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication
Section 2511(4)(a)
whoever violates subsection (1) of this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both
View the Source2. Telephone tapping (Wikipedia)
Section on U.S. call recording consent laws
The telephone call recording laws in most U.S. states require only one party to be aware of the recording, while twelve states require both parties to be aware
Section on U.S. legislative history following Watergate
This was in response to findings from the Watergate break-in, which allegedly uncovered a history of presidential operations that had used surveillance on domestic and foreign political organizations
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.