§2520 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

If someone illegally intercepts, shares, or uses your phone call, in-person talk, or electronic message, you can sue the person or company (but not the United States) who did it, except as 2511(2)(a)(ii) says otherwise. A court can order the violator to stop, decide rights, award money for actual harms, give punitive damages when appropriate, and make the violator pay a reasonable lawyer’s fee and court costs. Special rules set how much money you can get. For private, unscrambled satellite TV or certain radio signals (under subpart D of part 74 of FCC rules) taken for non‑illegal and non‑commercial reasons, the court must give either actual damages or a statutory amount: $50–$500 the first time, or $100–$1000 if the person was already enjoined or found liable once before. In other cases the court can award either actual damages plus any profits the violator made, or statutory damages equal to the greater of $100 per day for each day of violation or $10,000. Acting in good faith on a court order, subpoena, law, an officer’s request under section 2518(7), or a genuine legal belief is a defense. You must start a suit within two years after you first had a reasonable chance to discover the violation. If a U.S. agency is found to have violated these rules and it looks like an employee acted willfully, the agency must promptly start a disciplinary review and notify the Inspector General if it decides not to discipline. If an officer or government entity willfully uses or shares information beyond what section 2517 allows, that counts as a violation for purposes of suing.

Title 18, §2520

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)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, other than the United States, which engaged in that violation such relief as may be appropriate.

(b)In an 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 punitive damages in appropriate cases; and

(3)a reasonable attorney’s fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.

(c)(1)In an action under this section, if the conduct in violation of this chapter is the private viewing of a private satellite video communication that is not scrambled or encrypted or if the communication is a radio communication that is transmitted on frequencies allocated under subpart D of part 74 of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission that is not scrambled or encrypted and the conduct is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain, then the court shall assess damages as follows:

(A)If the person who engaged in that conduct has not previously been enjoined under section 2511(5) and has not been found liable in a prior civil action under this section, the court shall assess the greater of the sum of actual damages suffered by the plaintiff, or statutory damages of not less than $50 and not more than $500.

(B)If, on one prior occasion, the person who engaged in that conduct has been enjoined under section 2511(5) or has been found liable in a civil action under this section, the court shall assess the greater of the sum of actual damages suffered by the plaintiff, or statutory damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1000.

(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)A good faith reliance on—

(1)a court warrant or order, a grand jury subpoena, a legislative authorization, or a statutory authorization;

(2)a request of an investigative or law enforcement officer under section 2518(7) of this title; or

(3)a good faith determination that section 2511(3), 2511(2)(i), or 2511(2)(j) of this title permitted the conduct complained of;

(e)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.

(f)If a court or appropriate department or agency determines that the United States or any of its departments or agencies has violated any provision of this chapter, and the court or appropriate department or agency finds that the circumstances surrounding the violation raise serious questions about whether or not an officer or employee of the United States acted willfully or intentionally with respect to the violation, the department or agency shall, upon receipt of a true and correct copy of the decision and findings of the court or appropriate department or agency promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action against the officer or employee is warranted. If the head of the department or agency involved determines that disciplinary action is not warranted, he or she shall notify the Inspector General with jurisdiction over the department or agency concerned and shall provide the Inspector General with the reasons for such determination.

(g)Any willful disclosure or use by an investigative or law enforcement officer or governmental entity of information beyond the extent permitted by section 2517 is a violation of this chapter for purposes of section 2520(a).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 115–141 amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: “a good faith determination that section 2511(3) or 2511(2)(i) of this title permitted the conduct complained of;”. 2002—Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 107–296 inserted “or 2511(2)(i)” after “2511(3)”. 2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–56, § 223(a)(1), inserted “, other than the United States,” after “person or entity”. Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 107–56, § 223(a)(2), (3), added subsecs. (f) and (g). 1986—Pub. L. 99–508 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “Any person whose wire or oral communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of this chapter shall (1) have a civil cause of action against any person who intercepts, discloses, or uses, or procures any other person to intercept, disclose, or use such communications, and (2) be entitled to recover from any such person— “(a) actual damages but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher; “(b) punitive damages; and “(c) a reasonable attorney’s fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. A good faith reliance on a court order or legislative authorization shall constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this chapter or under any other law.” 1970—Pub. L. 91–358 substituted provisions that a good faith reliance on a court order or legislative authorization constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this chapter or under any other law, for provisions that a good faith reliance on a court order or on the provisions of section 2518(7) of this chapter constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective 60 days after Nov. 25, 2002, see section 4 of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 101 of Title 6, Domestic Security.

Effective Date

of 1986 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 99–508 effective 90 days after Oct. 21, 1986, and, in case of conduct pursuant to court order or extension, applicable only with respect to court orders and extensions made after such date, with special rule for State authorizations of interceptions, see section 111 of Pub. L. 99–508, set out as a note under section 2510 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1970 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 91–358 effective on first day of seventh calendar month which begins after July 29, 1970, see section 901(a) of Pub. L. 91–358. Rule of

Construction

Pub. L. 115–141, div. V, § 106, Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1224, provided that: “Nothing in this division [see section 101 of Pub. L. 115–141, set out as a

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of 2018 Amendment note under section 1 of this title], or the

Amendments

made by this division, shall be construed to preclude any foreign authority from obtaining assistance in a criminal investigation or prosecution pursuant to section 3512 of title 18, United States Code, section 1782 of title 28, United States Code, or as otherwise provided by law.”

§2520 Recovery of civil damages authorized

Summary

Title 18, §2520

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