TITLE 18

CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

CHAPTER 67

COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY

18-6703.  Manufacture, distribution, possession, and advertising of wire, electronic or oral communication intercepting devices prohibited. (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter any person who willfully:

(a)  Sends through the mail or sends or carries any electronic, mechanical, or other device, with the intention of rendering it primarily useful for the purpose of the illegal interception of wire, electronic or oral communications as specifically defined by this chapter; or

(b)  Manufactures, assembles, possesses, or sells any electronic, mechanical, or other device with the intention of rendering it primarily useful for the purpose of the illegal interception of wire, electronic or oral communications as specifically defined by this chapter, shall be guilty of a felony and is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of five (5) years or by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(2)  It is lawful 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 business; or

(b)  An officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract with, bidding upon contracts with, or in the course of doing business 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, electronic or oral communication.

(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 solely to a domestic provider of wire or electronic communication service or to an agency of the United States, any state, or a political subdivision thereof that is duly authorized to use such device.

History:

[18-6703, added 1980, ch. 326, sec. 2, p. 835; am. 2002, ch. 223, sec. 3, p. 637.]