§ 18.2-462.1. Use of police radio during commission of crime.

Any person who has in his possession or who uses a device capable of

receiving a police radio signal, message, or transmission, while in the

commission of a felony, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. A prosecution for

or conviction of the crime of use or possession of a police radio is not a

bar to conviction for any other crime committed while possessing or using the

police radio.

§ 19.2-62. Interception, disclosure, etc., of wire, electronic or oral

communications unlawful; penalties; exceptions.

A. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter any person who:

1. Intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept or procures any other

person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, electronic or oral

communication;

2. Intentionally uses, endeavors to use, or procures any other person to use

or endeavor to use any electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept

any oral communication;

3. Intentionally discloses, or endeavors to disclose, to any other person the

contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication knowing or having

reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of

a wire, electronic or oral communication; or

4. Intentionally uses, or endeavors to use, the contents of any wire,

electronic or oral communication, knowing or having reason to know that the

information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral

communication; shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.

B. 

1. It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for an operator of a

switchboard, or an officer, employee or agent of a provider of wire or

electronic communications service, whose facilities are used in the

transmission of a wire communication, to intercept, disclose or use that

communication in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any

activity which is a necessary incident to the rendition of his service or to

the protection of the rights or property of the provider of that service.

However, a provider of wire communication service to the public shall not

utilize service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or

service quality control checks. It shall not be a criminal offense under this

chapter for providers of wire or electronic communications service, their

officers, employees and agents, landlords, custodians, or other persons

pursuant to a court order under this chapter, to provide information

facilities or technical assistance to an investigative or law-enforcement

officer, who, pursuant to this chapter, is authorized to intercept a wire,

electronic or oral communication.

2. It shall not be a criminal offense under this chapter for a person to

intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication, where such person is a

party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has

given prior consent to such interception.

3. It shall not be a criminal offense under this chapter for any person:

(a) To intercept or access an electronic communication made through an

electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic

communication is readily accessible to the general public;

(b) To intercept any radio communication which is transmitted (i) by any

station for the use of the general public, or that relates to ships,

aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress, (ii) by any governmental,

law-enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety

communications system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the

general public, (iii) by a station operating on an authorized frequency

within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens band, or general mobile

radio services; or (iv) by any marine or aeronautical communications system;

(c) To intercept any wire or electronic communication the transmission of

which is causing harmful interference to any lawfully operating station or

consumer electronic equipment, to the extent necessary to identify the source

of such interference;

(d) Using the same frequency to intercept any radio communication made

through a system that utilizes frequencies monitored by individuals engaged

in the provision or the use of such system, if such communication is not

scrambled or encrypted;

(e) To use a pen register or a trap and trace device pursuant to §§ 19.2-70.1

and 19.2-70.2; or

(f) Who is a provider of electronic communication service to record the fact

that a wire or electronic communication was initiated or completed in order

to protect such provider, another provider furnishing service toward the

completion of the wire or electronic communication, or a user of that

service, from fraudulent, unlawful or abusive use of such service.

C. 

A person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the

public shall not intentionally divulge the contents of any communication,

other than one to such person or entity or an agent thereof, while in

transmission on that service to any person or entity other than an addressee

or intended recipient of such communication or an agent of the addressee or

intended recipient. However, a person or entity providing electronic

communication service to the public may divulge the contents of any such

communication:

1. As authorized in subdivision B 1 of this section or § 19.2-67;

2. With the lawful consent of the originator or any addressee or intended

recipient of such communication;

3. To a person employed or authorized, or whose facilities are used, to

forward such communication to its destination; or

4. Which were inadvertently obtained by the service provider and which appear

to pertain to the commission of a crime, to a law-enforcement agency.

Conduct otherwise an offense under this subsection that consists of or

relates to the interception of a satellite transmission that is not encrypted

or scrambled and that is transmitted 

(i) to a broadcasting station for

purposes of retransmission to the general public, or 

(ii) as an audio

subcarrier intended for redistribution to facilities open to the public, but

not including data transmissions or telephone calls, is not an offense under

this section unless the conduct is for the purposes of direct or indirect

commercial advantage or private financial gain. 

Further, private viewing of a

satellite video communication that is not scrambled or encrypted and

interception of a radio communication that is transmitted on frequencies

allocated under subpart D of Part 74 of the Rules of the Federal

Communications Commission that is not scrambled or encrypted when the viewing

or interception is not done for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes

of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain, shall

not be offenses under this chapter.

Violation of this subsection shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.