 
                             PART I--CRIMES
 
CHAPTER 121--STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONAL 
                             RECORDS ACCESS
 
Sec. 2702. Disclosure of contents

    (a) Prohibitions.--Except as provided in subsection (b)--
        (1) a person or entity providing an electronic communication 
    service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or 
    entity the contents of a communication while in electronic storage 
    by that service; and
        (2) a person or entity providing remote computing service to the 
    public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the 
    contents of any communication which is carried or maintained on that 
    service--
            (A) on behalf of, and received by means of electronic 
        transmission from (or created by means of computer processing of 
        communications received by means of electronic transmission 
        from), a subscriber or customer of such service; and
            (B) solely for the purpose of providing storage or computer 
        processing services to such subscriber or customer, if the 
        provider is not authorized to access the contents of any such 
        communications for purposes of providing any services other than 
        storage or computer processing.

    (b) Exceptions.--A person or entity may divulge the contents of a 
communication--
        (1) to an addressee or intended recipient of such communication 
    or an agent of such addressee or intended recipient;
        (2) as otherwise authorized in section 2517, 2511(2)(a), or 2703 
    of this title;
        (3) with the lawful consent of the originator or an addressee or 
    intended recipient of such communication, or the subscriber in the 
    case of remote computing service;
        (4) to a person employed or authorized or whose facilities are 
    used to forward such communication to its destination;
        (5) as may be necessarily incident to the rendition of the 
    service or to the protection of the rights or property of the 
    provider of that service; or
        (6) to a law enforcement agency--
            (A) if the contents--
                (i) were inadvertently obtained by the service provider; 
            and
                (ii) appear to pertain to the commission of a crime; or

            (B) if required by section 227 of the Crime Control Act of 
        1990.

(Added Pub. L. 99-508, title II, Sec. 201[(a)], Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 
1860; amended Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, Sec. 7037, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 
Stat. 4399; Pub. L. 105-314, title VI, Sec. 604(b), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 
Stat. 2984.)

                       References in Text

    Section 227 of the Crime Control Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. 
(b)(6), is classified to section 13032 of Title 42, The Public Health 
and Welfare.


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 105-314 amended par. (6) generally. 
Prior to amendment, par. (6) read as follows: ``to a law enforcement 
agency, if such contents--
        ``(A) were inadvertently obtained by the service provider; and
        ``(B) appear to pertain to the commission of a crime.''
    1988--Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 100-690 substituted ``2517'' for 
``2516''.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 2706 of this title.
