CB> Was that a change in the law recently? I hate to bring this up,
CB> but technically you are brodcasting your voice using radio waves, well
CB> anyway I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to do some scanning. Was
CB> that the doing of the FCC or do I need to ask?  ;[
I posted this just a short while ago, but here it is again...
From: mulligan@ACM.ORG (F. Barry Mulligan)
Subject: Re: cell phones and ECPA
Organization: ACM Network Services
curious@here.now asked:
> What is the true story on cell scanning.  I have heard that:
> 1.  It is illegal to sell scanners that receive cell freqs.
> 2.  It is illegal to scan cell freqs.
> 3.  It is illegal to divulge what one hears on cell freqs.
> I tend to think that # 1 and #3 are true.  but is #2?
> Has anyone who knows what is what read the ECPA and understand it?
    The questions keep coming up, different laws are mentioned, and most
replies are of the form "I'll do anything I bloody well please and no law
can stop me". The following is a short disertation on the various laws and
their effect.
    The laws of the United States, passed by Congress, are codified as the
United States Code (USC). It is divided into titles covering various 
ubjects.
Title 18 includes the criminal laws and penalties; Title 47 covers
telecommunications. A law can be refered to by its original name (i.e. "The
Communication Act of 1934") or its entry in the USC. A specific section
would be refered to by title/USC/part/section, i.e. 47 USC 605.
    To carry out the law, the various government agencies create regulations,
which are codified as the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is likewise
divided into titles, with the FCC's rules in 47 CFR.
    18 USC 119 bars the disclosure of any electronic communications to
which you are not a party (with certain legal exceptions), and sets the
penalties.  47 USC 605 (the Communications Act of 1934) also bans the
disclosure or use of third-party communications. With minor changes, this
has been the law for 60 years.
    In 1986 Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (the
ECPA), which added definitions to the law that banned listening to cellular
telephones. It also banned the monitoring of broadcast auxiliary, SCA and
scrambled signals.
    In 1992 Congress passed the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution
Act (TDDRA), which instructed the FCC to ban the manufacture or import of
scanners capable of receiving cellular. In accordance with this law, the FCC
modified 47 CFR Parts 2 & 15, effective 26 April 1993. Note that this does
not affect the sale of such scanners, so long as they were made or imported
before the cutoff date. It also does not bar individuals from modifying
their receivers.
    On 25 Oct 94, the Digital Telephony act was signed. Buried in one of the
additional sections was a change to 18 USC 2510 & 2511 that added cordless
phones to the original ECPA ban on receiving cellular.
    In short:
It is illegal to manufacture or import cellular-capable scanners.
It is illegal to listen to cellular (and cordless) transmissions.
It is illegal to divulge any communication to which you are not a party.
Now, please - we all know the first two are:  1) stupid;  2) unenforceable;
and  3) widely ignored. It is not really necessary to post the obvious to
the whole world (unless you have an irresistable urge to demonstrate even
less sense than the legislators who enacted them).
... This tagline under surveillance by the Pinkerton Agency!
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