FG> BC> Looks like we're going to see what kind of teeth the
  > BC> ECPA has. What with the Florida couple monitoring and
  > BC> recording Newt Gingrich's cell phone converstion.
FG>   Yes, I'm *intensely* interested in how this turns out. Espically as it
  >*appears* they got the entire conversation in question. Unless the Speaker
  >was in essentially one location the whole time, it suggests they had both
  >the hardware and knowledge to follow his conversation from cell to cell.
  >That plus the presence of a recorder suggests it was much more than casual
  >listening.
FG>   I mean, we seem to have violations of the TDDRA, the ECPA *and* the
  >Communications Act....
I just about fell out of my chair last night when the local TV station,
channel 12 in Montgomery Alabama, ran a story on Cell monitoring.  They
DEMONSTRATED the ability of various scanners to receive cell
conversations.  They broadcast several conversations directly from the
scanner speaker.  They did say that the conversations that were
broadcast were between station employees, but went on to say that
they had listened to several other conversations in the process of
compiling this story.  For the icing on the cake, the announcer divulged
personal and quite sensitive information about a conversation that he
had heard. He did not say the name of the person talking, but did say
that he recognized the caller as a personal friend of his who was
talking to his attorney.  He described the type of business the friend
was in and where he was located.  Most anyone could easily determine the
actual identity.
I couldn't believe that a TV station, licensed by the FCC, would so
blatantly violate the rules of the very agency that keeps them in
business. I wonder if they actually rob banks in order to describe how a
bank robbery occurs???  Not once during the story did they mention that
what they were doing was illegal! They did demonstrate some kind of
digital scrambling device that could be used on cell phones.  The
announcer somewhat facetiously advised his "friend" to purchase one of
these devices.
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