§3121 General prohibition on pen register and trap and trace device use; exception

Summary

You cannot install or use a pen register or a trap-and-trace device unless you first get a court order under the law, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or an approved foreign government order the Attorney General has certified. Companies that provide phone or internet services may use these devices without a court order to run, maintain, or test their systems, to protect their network or users, to stop fraud or abuse, or if the user agrees. Government agencies that use these tools must use technology that only captures dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling info (like numbers and routing data) and must not record the contents of calls or messages. Anyone who knowingly breaks the rule can be fined, jailed for up to one year, or both.