Randy, Here's the lowdown on e-mail interception. E-mail is treated just like any other form of electronic communication. It is a privilage and not a constutitional right so it falls under: Public Law 99-508 Electronic Communications Privacy Act Updated Federal privacy clause in Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Streets Act of 1968 There are a few others of course, but these are the biggies that are brought up in the courts. "It is LEGAL to intercept electronic communications readily accessible to the general public". Now be careful with this... it is referring to frequencies that are public carriers as defined by the FCC. In a nutshell, you can not be prosecuted for recieving a private phone conversation over the lines of your speaker wires and/or another phone. Why? It was not intentional. Remember, everything legal depends on the scope of which the act was created and how the tool and/or weapon was used. Example: 1. It is legal to use a hammer to drive nails into a board 2. It is legal to use a hammer to kill someone 3. It is illegal to use a hammer to kill someone Scope: 1. You are building a picnic table 2. You are defending yourself from another using a = or > weapon. 3. You are the agressor. Remember this when intercepting electronic communication, ask yourself "in what scope am I recieving this signal" If there is no malacious intent, if you do not divulge the information you recieve and it is across a public carrier then, yes... it can be legal. However, if you go out of your way to modify a Radio Shack scanner to scan cell phone and local 900MHz frequencies... you can get yourself into a little trouble. That's why the FCC regulates the distrabution of such devices. Same thing goes for E-mail, if you accidently recieve someone elses e-mail, this was not done with malacious intent. You are not to divulge the information you recieve. Sorry I'm getting a little long winded here, just one more thing to add. The rules change however if it is in the workplace, but there are rules that the workplace has to follow. The catch is... Implied Consent and Express Consent. Implied consent: Message posted that indicates that their will be periodic electronic monitering and/or verbal warning that you may be monitored. (Can be a logon banner) Express Consent: Explicit signed permission (company policies) granting the company-employer the right to monitor communications at their discression. Remember, at work the equipment, property and the telephone lines do not belong to you. They belong to the company. If you own a business and/or are responsible for such monitoring... remember two things. 1. Get employees to sign a policy granting you Express Consent to monitor communications lines. Make it part of their in-process. Do not allow them access to your communicatoins equipment without signing the policy. Just remember to word it carefully, get the company lawyer in on the draft. 2. Never, Never, Never investigate an employee. Only a trained law enforcement officer can do an investigation. Remember... Statistical Gathering is the key. Investigating = No Statistical Gathering = Yes Remember one thing about discussing anything in terms of law. Law is not written in stone. Laws are scripted to be generic, thats why we have lawyers who make $$$ for being able to bend the sight of law into something a Judge or Jury may see. I hope I managed to answer your question Randy. If you have any thing you would like to add and/or more questions hit the RE: sK01

From: Randy Harris <Randy@Dodeca.com> To: "'cypherpunks@toad.com'" <cypherpunks@toad.com> Subject: email interception Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 10:10:05 -0400

is it illegal to intercept email.........?

If you don't know could you direct me somewhere that has the answer..?

R.

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