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CHAPTER 16. CRIMINAL INSTRUMENTS, INTERCEPTION OF WIRE OR ORAL
COMMUNICATION, AND INSTALLATION OF TRACKING DEVICE
§ 16.05. ILLEGAL DIVULGENCE OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) In this section, "electronic
communication," "electronic communications service," and
"electronic communications system" have the meanings given those
terms in Article 18.20, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) A person who provides electronic communications service
to the public commits an offense if the person knowingly divulges
the contents of a communication to another who is not the intended
recipient of the communication.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (b) that the actor divulged the contents of the
communication:
(1) as authorized by federal or state law;
(2) to a person employed, authorized, or whose
facilities are used to forward the communication to the
communication's destination; or
(3) to a law enforcement agency if the contents
reasonably appear to pertain to the commission of a crime.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under
Subsection (b) that involves a scrambled or encrypted radio
communication is a state jail felony.
(e) If committed for a tortious or illegal purpose or to
gain a benefit, an offense under Subsection (b) that involves a
radio communication that is not scrambled or encrypted:
(1) is a Class A misdemeanor if the communication is
not a public land mobile radio service communication or a paging
service communication; or
(2) is a Class C misdemeanor if the communication is a
public land mobile radio service communication or a paging service
communication. |
