All Agencies, Latest Month All Agencies, Previous FY Geographic Distribution
of Convictions for
All Agencies, FY 2023
Prosecution Report
Not Available
Prosecution Report
Not Available
Conviction Report
Not Available
1 Conviction
in Fiscal Year 2023

CITE

    18 USC Sec. 2703                                            01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    PART I - CRIMES
    CHAPTER 121 - STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND
                   TRANSACTIONAL RECORDS ACCESS

HEAD

    Sec. 2703. Required disclosure of customer communications or
      records

STATUTE

      (a) Contents of Wire or Electronic Communications in Electronic
    Storage. - A governmental entity may require the disclosure by a
    provider of electronic communication service of the contents of a
    wire or electronic communication, that is in electronic storage in
    an electronic communications system for one hundred and eighty days
    or less, only pursuant to a warrant issued using the procedures
    described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by a court
    with jurisdiction over the offense under investigation or
    equivalent State warrant. A governmental entity may require the
    disclosure by a provider of electronic communications services of
    the contents of a wire or electronic communication that has been in
    electronic storage in an electronic communications system for more
    than one hundred and eighty days by the means available under
    subsection (b) of this section.
      (b) Contents of Wire or Electronic Communications in a Remote
    Computing Service. - (1) A governmental entity may require a
    provider of remote computing service to disclose the contents of
    any wire or electronic communication to which this paragraph is
    made applicable by paragraph (2) of this subsection -
        (A) without required notice to the subscriber or customer, if
      the governmental entity obtains a warrant issued using the
      procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
      by a court with jurisdiction over the offense under investigation
      or equivalent State warrant; or
        (B) with prior notice from the governmental entity to the
      subscriber or customer if the governmental entity -
          (i) uses an administrative subpoena authorized by a Federal
        or State statute or a Federal or State grand jury or trial
        subpoena; or
          (ii) obtains a court order for such disclosure under
        subsection (d) of this section;
      except that delayed notice may be given pursuant to section 2705
      of this title.
      (2) Paragraph (1) is applicable with respect to any wire or
    electronic communication that is held or maintained on that service
    -
        (A) on behalf of, and received by means of electronic
      transmission from (or created by means of computer processing of
      communications received by means of electronic transmission
      from), a subscriber or customer of such remote computing service;
      and
        (B) solely for the purpose of providing storage or computer
      processing services to such subscriber or customer, if the
      provider is not authorized to access the contents of any such
      communications for purposes of providing any services other than
      storage or computer processing.
      (c) Records Concerning Electronic Communication Service or Remote
    Computing Service. - (1) A governmental entity may require a
    provider of electronic communication service or remote computing
    service to disclose a record or other information pertaining to a
    subscriber to or customer of such service (not including the
    contents of communications) only when the governmental entity -
        (A) obtains a warrant issued using the procedures described in
      the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by a court with
      jurisdiction over the offense under investigation or equivalent
      State warrant;
        (B) obtains a court order for such disclosure under subsection
      (d) of this section;
        (C) has the consent of the subscriber or customer to such
      disclosure;
        (D) submits a formal written request relevant to a law
      enforcement investigation concerning telemarketing fraud for the
      name, address, and place of business of a subscriber or customer
      of such provider, which subscriber or customer is engaged in
      telemarketing (as such term is defined in section 2325 of this
      title); or
        (E) seeks information under paragraph (2).
      (2) A provider of electronic communication service or remote
    computing service shall disclose to a governmental entity the -
        (A) name;
        (B) address;
        (C) local and long distance telephone connection records, or
      records of session times and durations;
        (D) length of service (including start date) and types of
      service utilized;
        (E) telephone or instrument number or other subscriber number
      or identity, including any temporarily assigned network address;
      and
        (F) means and source of payment for such service (including any
      credit card or bank account number),
    of a subscriber to or customer of such service when the
    governmental entity uses an administrative subpoena authorized by a
    Federal or State statute or a Federal or State grand jury or trial
    subpoena or any means available under paragraph (1).
      (3) A governmental entity receiving records or information under
    this subsection is not required to provide notice to a subscriber
    or customer.
      (d) Requirements for Court Order. - A court order for disclosure
    under subsection (b) or (c) may be issued by any court that is a
    court of competent jurisdiction and shall issue only if the
    governmental entity offers specific and articulable facts showing
    that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the contents of a
    wire or electronic communication, or the records or other
    information sought, are relevant and material to an ongoing
    criminal investigation. In the case of a State governmental
    authority, such a court order shall not issue if prohibited by the
    law of such State. A court issuing an order pursuant to this
    section, on a motion made promptly by the service provider, may
    quash or modify such order, if the information or records requested
    are unusually voluminous in nature or compliance with such order
    otherwise would cause an undue burden on such provider.
      (e) No Cause of Action Against a Provider Disclosing Information
    Under This Chapter. - No cause of action shall lie in any court
    against any provider of wire or electronic communication service,
    its officers, employees, agents, or other specified persons for
    providing information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with
    the terms of a court order, warrant, subpoena, statutory
    authorization, or certification under this chapter.
      (f) Requirement To Preserve Evidence. -
        (1) In general. - A provider of wire or electronic
      communication services or a remote computing service, upon the
      request of a governmental entity, shall take all necessary steps
      to preserve records and other evidence in its possession pending
      the issuance of a court order or other process.
        (2) Period of retention. - Records referred to in paragraph (1)
      shall be retained for a period of 90 days, which shall be
      extended for an additional 90-day period upon a renewed request
      by the governmental entity.
      (g) Presence of Officer Not Required. - Notwithstanding section
    3105 of this title, the presence of an officer shall not be
    required for service or execution of a search warrant issued in
    accordance with this chapter requiring disclosure by a provider of
    electronic communications service or remote computing service of
    the contents of communications or records or other information
    pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service.

SOURCE

    (Added Pub. L. 99-508, title II, Sec. 201[(a)], Oct. 21, 1986, 100
    Stat. 1861; amended Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, Secs. 7038, 7039,
    Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4399; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec.
    330003(b), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2140; Pub. L. 103-414, title
    II, Sec. 207(a), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4292; Pub. L. 104-132,
    title VIII, Sec. 804, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1305; Pub. L. 104-
    293, title VI, Sec. 601(b), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3469; Pub. L.
    104-294, title VI, Sec. 605(f), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3510; Pub.
    L. 105-184, Sec. 8, June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 522; Pub. L. 107-56,
    title II, Secs. 209(2), 210, 212(b)(1), 220(a)(1), (b), Oct. 26,
    2001, 115 Stat. 283, 285, 291, 292; Pub. L. 107-273, div. B, title
    IV, Sec. 4005(a)(2), div. C, title I, Sec. 11010, Nov. 2, 2002, 116
    Stat. 1812, 1822; Pub. L. 107-296, title II, Sec. 225(h)(1), Nov.
    25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2158; Pub. L. 109-162, title XI, Sec.
    1171(a)(1), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

      The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to in subsecs.
    (a), (b)(1)(A), and (c)(1)(B)(i), are set out in the Appendix to
    this title.

AMENDMENTS

      2006 - Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 109-162 struck out "or" at end.
      2002 - Subsec. (c)(1)(E). Pub. L. 107-273, Sec. 4005(a)(2),
    realigned margins.
      Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107-296 inserted ", statutory authorization"
    after "subpoena".
      Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107-273, Sec. 11010, added subsec. (g).
      2001 - Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 212(b)(1)(A), substituted "Required
    disclosure of customer communications or records" for "Requirements
    for governmental access" in section catchline.
      Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107-56, Secs. 209(2)(A), (B), 220(a)(1),
    substituted "Contents of Wire or Electronic" for "Contents of
    Electronic" in heading and "contents of a wire or electronic" for
    "contents of an electronic" in two places and "using the procedures
    described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by a court
    with jurisdiction over the offense under investigation" for "under
    the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure" in text.
      Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 209(2)(A), substituted
    "Contents of Wire or Electronic" for "Contents of Electronic" in
    heading.
      Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 107-56, Secs. 209(2)(C), 220(a)(1),
    substituted "any wire or electronic communication" for "any
    electronic communication" in introductory provisions and "using the
    procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by
    a court with jurisdiction over the offense under investigation" for
    "under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure" in subpar. (A).
      Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 209(2)(C), substituted "any
    wire or electronic communication" for "any electronic
    communication" in introductory provisions.
      Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 107-56, Secs. 212(b)(1)(C), 220(a)(1),
    designated subpar. (A) and introductory provisions of subpar. (B)
    as par. (1), substituted "A governmental entity may require a
    provider of electronic communication service or remote computing
    service to" for "(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
    provider of electronic communication service or remote computing
    service may" and a closing parenthesis for provisions which began
    with "covered by subsection (a) or (b) of this section) to any
    person other than a governmental entity." in former subpar. (A) and
    ended with "(B) A provider of electronic communication service or
    remote computing service shall disclose a record or other
    information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such
    service (not including the contents of communications covered by
    subsection (a) or (b) of this section) to a governmental entity",
    redesignated clauses (i) to (iv) of former subpar. (B) as subpars.
    (A) to (D), respectively, substituted "using the procedures
    described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by a court
    with jurisdiction over the offense under investigation" for "under
    the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure" in subpar. (A) and "; or"
    for period at end of subpar. (D), added subpar. (E), and
    redesignated former subpar. (C) as par. (2).
      Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 210, amended par. (2), as
    redesignated by section 212 of Pub. L. 107-56, by substituting
    "entity the - " for "entity the name, address, local and long
    distance telephone toll billing records, telephone number or other
    subscriber number or identity, and length of service of a
    subscriber" in introductory provisions, inserting subpars. (A) to
    (F), striking out "and the types of services the subscriber or
    customer utilized," before "when the governmental entity uses an
    administrative subpoena", inserting "of a subscriber" at beginning
    of concluding provisions and designating "to or customer of such
    service when the governmental entity uses an administrative
    subpoena authorized by a Federal or State statute or a Federal or
    State grand jury or trial subpoena or any means available under
    paragraph (1)." as remainder of concluding provisions.
      Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 212(b)(1)(C)(iii), (D), redesignated subpar.
    (C) of par. (1) as par. (2) and temporarily substituted "paragraph
    (1)" for "subparagraph (B)".
      Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 212(b)(1)(B), redesignated par. (2) as (3).
      Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 212(b)(1)(B), redesignated
    par. (2) as (3).
      Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107-56, Sec. 220(b), struck out "described
    in section 3127(2)(A)" after "court of competent jurisdiction".
      1998 - Subsec. (c)(1)(B)(iv). Pub. L. 105-184 added cl. (iv).
      1996 - Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 104-293 inserted "local and
    long distance" after "address,".
      Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-294 substituted "in section 3127(2)(A)"
    for "in section 3126(2)(A)".
      Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104-132 added subsec. (f).
      1994 - Subsec. (c)(1)(B). Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 207(a)(1)(A),
    redesignated cls. (ii) to (iv) as (i) to (iii), respectively, and
    struck out former cl. (i) which read as follows: "uses an
    administrative subpoena authorized by a Federal or State statute,
    or a Federal or State grand jury or trial subpoena;".
      Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 207(a)(1)(B), added
    subpar. (C).
      Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103-414, Sec. 207(a)(2), amended first
    sentence generally. Prior to amendment, first sentence read as
    follows: "A court order for disclosure under subsection (b) or (c)
    of this section may be issued by any court that is a court of
    competent jurisdiction set forth in section 3127(2)(A) of this
    title and shall issue only if the governmental entity shows that
    there is reason to believe the contents of a wire or electronic
    communication, or the records or other information sought, are
    relevant to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry."
      Pub. L. 103-322 substituted "section 3127(2)(A)" for "section
    3126(2)(A)".
      1988 - Subsecs. (b)(1)(B)(i), (c)(1)(B)(i). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec.
    7038, inserted "or trial" after "grand jury".
      Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7039, inserted "may be issued
    by any court that is a court of competent jurisdiction set forth in
    section 3126(2)(A) of this title and" before "shall issue".
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by Pub. L. 107-296 effective 60 days after Nov. 25,
    2002, see section 4 of Pub. L. 107-296, set out as an Effective
    Date note under section 101 of Title 6, Domestic Security.
Customized queries of TRAC's data TRAC FBI Web Site TRAC DEA Web Site TRAC Immigration Web Site TRAC DHS Web Site TRAC IRS Web Site TRAC ATF Web Site TRAC Reports Web Site
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
Copyright 2010
TRAC Web Site