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18 U.S.C. 2512 ECPA · Chapter 119: WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION AND INTERCEPTION OF ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

18 U.S.C. 2512 ECPA: Manufacture, distribution, possession, and advertising of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices prohibited

United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026.

Official text

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, any person who intentionally⁠—
sends through the mail, or sends or carries in interstate or foreign commerce, 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, oral, or electronic communications;
manufactures, assembles, possesses, or sells 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, oral, or electronic communications, and that such device or any component thereof has been or will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or
places in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publication or disseminates by electronic means any advertisement of⁠—
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, oral, or electronic communications; or
any other electronic, mechanical, or other device, where such advertisement promotes the use of such device for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications,
knowing the content of the advertisement and knowing or having reason to know that such advertisement will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
It shall not be unlawful under this section for⁠—
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 the business of providing that wire or electronic communication service, or
an officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract 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, oral, or electronic communications.
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 in interstate or foreign commerce solely to a domestic provider of wire or electronic communication service or to an agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof which is duly authorized to use such device.

Source: United States Code, title 18, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 90-351, title III, § 802 , June 19, 1968 , 82 Stat. 214 ; amended Pub. L. 99-508, title I, § 101(c)(1)(A) , (7), (f)(2), Oct. 21, 1986 , 100 Stat. 1851 , 1853; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII , §§ 330016(1)(L), 330022, Sept. 13, 1994 , 108 Stat. 2147 , 2150; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, § 604(b)(45) , Oct. 11, 1996 , 110 Stat. 3509 ; Pub. L. 105-112, § 2 , Nov. 21, 1997 , 111 Stat. 2273 ; Pub. L. 107-296, title XXII, § 2207(f) , formerly title II, § 225(f), Nov. 25, 2002 , 116 Stat. 2158 , renumbered § 2207(f), Pub. L. 115-278, § 2(g)(2)(I) , Nov. 16, 2018 , 132 Stat. 4178 .)

18 U.S.C. 2512 on the Office of the Law Revision Counsel

United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.