The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) sets out the provisions for access, use, disclosure, interception and privacy protections of electronic communications and is included in Title 18 of the U.S. Code, ECPA prohibits unlawful access and certain disclosures of communication contents.
Prior to the law that was enacted in 1986, the Communications Act permitted listening to private communications but one was prohibited from taking any action with any of the information.
Anyway it appears you may have violated a federal law with the posting below:
73, Don, W6YN
---------- Original Message ---------- From: michael@reynoldsoffice.com To: sbarc sbarc-list@west.net Cc: Subject: [Sbarc-list] Fire Info Date: Tue, 05 May 2009 16:23:53 -0700
Just heard on Air-to-Ground frequency - 170.000 MHz
Fire is moving southeast, and is estimated to reach "Mission Canyon proper" within an hour. A lot of talk about Inspiration Point.
The air-to-ground frequency is being used in conjuction with Operations - 153.905. The raw info is coming from the helicopters, and is then coordinated via the ops frequency. This is a great combination of frequencies to be monitoring.
---Michael, NO6O
Title 18 - Part 1 - Chapter 119 .... various subparagraphs...
(g) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter or chapter 121 of this title for any person— (i) to intercept or access an electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public; (ii) to intercept any radio communication which is transmitted— (I) by any station for the use of the general public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress; (II) by any governmental, law enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety communications system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the general public; (III) by a station operating on an authorized frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens band, or general mobile radio services; or (IV) by any marine or aeronautical communications system.
So it is perfectly legal to intercept unencrypted transmissions by police/fire/public service. Reading further, if the communication is accessible by the general public, it is not illegal to provide a summary of the same. It's how newspapers get some of their info.
Keith KI6HLD
On May 5, 2009, at 4:51 PM, W6YN Don Milbury wrote:
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) sets out the provisions for access, use, disclosure, interception and privacy protections of electronic communications and is included in Title 18 of the U.S. Code, ECPA prohibits unlawful access and certain disclosures of communication contents.
Prior to the law that was enacted in 1986, the Communications Act permitted listening to private communications but one was prohibited from taking any action with any of the information.
Anyway it appears you may have violated a federal law with the posting below:
73, Don, W6YN
---------- Original Message ---------- From: michael@reynoldsoffice.com To: sbarc sbarc-list@west.net Cc: Subject: [Sbarc-list] Fire Info Date: Tue, 05 May 2009 16:23:53 -0700
Just heard on Air-to-Ground frequency - 170.000 MHz
Fire is moving southeast, and is estimated to reach "Mission Canyon proper" within an hour. A lot of talk about Inspiration Point.
The air-to-ground frequency is being used in conjuction with Operations - 153.905. The raw info is coming from the helicopters, and is then coordinated via the ops frequency. This is a great combination of frequencies to be monitoring.
---Michael, NO6O
SBARC-list mailing list SBARC-list@lists.netlojix.com http://lists.netlojix.com/mailman/listinfo/sbarc-list
W6YN Don Milbury wrote:
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) sets out the provisions for access, use, disclosure, interception and privacy protections of electronic communications and is included in Title 18 of the U.S. Code, ECPA prohibits unlawful access and certain disclosures of communication contents.
Indeed it does, with regard to such communications not readily accessible to the general public.
Anyway it appears you may have violated a federal law with the posting below:
Uh...
No. Not even close.
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 119 > § 2510 Definitions
(16) “readily accessible to the general public” means, with respect to a radio communication, that such communication is not— (A) scrambled or encrypted; (B) transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential parameters have been withheld from the public with the intention of preserving the privacy of such communication; (C) carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission; (D) transmitted over a communication system provided by a common carrier, unless the communication is a tone only paging system communication; or (E) transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D, E, or F of part 74, or part 94 of the Rules of the Federal Communications Commission, unless, in the case of a communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74 that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services, the communication is a two-way voice communication by radio;
(Part 74 is broadcast auxiliary microwave, part 94 is reserved, was microwave above 3 GHz.)
IANAL, YMMV.
-- Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay@impulse.net Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV
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Jay Hennigan -
Keith Horton -
W6YN Don Milbury