The Electronic Communications Privacy Act prohibits intentional interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications. The one-party consent rule and the party exception limit its reach, and statutory damages are available.
Interception must be contemporaneous with transmission.
Alternative Names:
ECPA Claim|Federal Wiretap Claim
Why it Matters?
The contemporaneous interception requirement defeats claims based on access to stored data, since retrieving information after transmission completed is not interception under the federal statute and falls instead under the Stored Communications Act. That distinction is the most reliable federal defense. One-party consent also means a party to the communication may record it, which narrows federal exposure relative to all-party consent states.
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Frequently asked questions
What defeats most federal wiretap claims?
How does federal consent differ from state?
