Unlawful Access to Stored Communications (18 USC § 2701)
Unlawful Access to Stored Communications Act covers access to a facility through which electronic communication is provided or exceeding the access that was authorized.
- broadly written to apply to a range of offenses
- punishable by up to 5 years in prison and fines for first offense
- focus is on any facility, server, or device used to store electronic communications
Wording of the statute
- Offense. —Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section whoever— intentionally accesses without authorization a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided;
- or intentionally exceeds an authorization to access that facility; and thereby obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while it is in electronic storage in such system shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section