Consumer Guide Interception and Divulgence of Radio Communications Federal and state laws make intercepting and divulging radio communications illegal and punishable by severe criminal penalties with certain exceptions What kinds of interception and divulgence of radio transmissions are legal The FCC and the Communications Act do not forbid certain types of interception and disclosure of radio communications including Mere interception of radio communications such as overhearing your neighbor's conversation over a cordless telephone or listening to emergency service reports on a radio scanner although intercepting and or recording telephone-related radio communications may be a violation of other federal or state laws Divulgence of certain radio communications that were transmitted for use by the general public such as over-the-air radio and television broadcasts Divulgence of broadcasts related to ships aircraft vehicles or persons in distress Divulgence of transmissions by amateur radio or citizen band radio operators What kinds of interception and divulgence are prohibited The Communications Act prohibits a person from using an intercepted radio communication for his or her own benefit Examples of this include A taxicab company intercepting radio communications between dispatchers and drivers of a rival taxicab company in order to gain competitive advantages Unauthorized interception of signals from pay television services such as cable or satellite A person selling or publishing a recording or contents of someone else's wireless phone conversation What about equipment used to intercept radio communications The Communications Act prohibits the FCC from authorizing radio scanning equipment that Can receive transmissions in the frequencies allocated to domestic cellular services Can readily be altered by the user to intercept cellular communications May be modified to convert digital transmissions to analog voice audio It is illegal to manufacture import sell or lease such unauthorized equipment in the United States Filing a complaint You have multiple options for filing a complaint with the FCC File a complaint online at https consumercomplaints fcc gov 1 Federal Communications Commission Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau 445 12th St SW Washington DC 20554 1-888-CALL-FCC 1-888-225-5322 TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC 1-888-835-5322 www fcc gov consumer-governmental-affairs-bureau By phone 1-888-CALL-FCC 1-888-225-5322 TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC 1-888-835-5322 ASL 1-844-432-2275 By mail please include your name address contact information and as much detail about your complaint as possible Federal Communications Commission Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division 445 12th Street S W Washington DC 20554 Accessible formats To request this article in an accessible format - braille large print Word or text document or audio write or call us at the address or phone number at the bottom of the page or send an email to fcc504@fcc gov Last Reviewed 11 07 17 2 Federal Communications Commission Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau 445 12th St SW Washington DC 20554 1-888-CALL-FCC 1-888-225-5322 TTY 1-888-TELL-FCC 1-888-835-5322 www fcc gov consumer-governmental-affairs-bureau This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu