ECPA included amendments to the Wiretap Act, created the Stored Communications Act, and created the Pen Register Act. The Wiretap Act concerns interception of electronic and wire communications, which include “any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection.” An oral communication is “any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation”; this constitutes any oral conversation in person where there is the expectation no third party is listening.
Individuals who violate ECPA face up to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000. Victims are also entitled to bring civil suits and recover actual damages, in addition to punitive damages and attorney’s fees, for violations. The United States itself cannot be sued under ECPA, but evidence that is gathered illegally cannot be introduced in court.