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18 U.S.C. § 2520

Recovery of civil damages authorized

United States · Title 18 — CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Status: effective

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18 U.S.C. § 2520, Recovery of civil damages authorized, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/449662
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Full text

In an action under this section, appropriate relief includes— In an action under this section, if the conduct in violation of this chapter is the private viewing of a private satellite video communication that is not scrambled or encrypted or if the communication is 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 and the conduct is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain, then the court shall assess damages as follows: In any other action under this section, the court may assess as damages whichever is the greater of— A good faith reliance on—

Legislative history

The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.

  • Amended byPub. L. 99-508(H.R. 4952)1986-10-21
    Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
  • Amended byPub. L. 107-56(H.R. 3162)2001-10-26
    Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001
    House: 357–66Senate: 98–1
  • Amended byPub. L. 107-296(H.R. 5005)2002-11-25
    Homeland Security Act of 2002
    House: 295–132Senate: 90–9
  • Amended byPub. L. 115-141(H.R. 1625)2018-03-23
    Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
    House: 256–167Senate: no recorded tally
  • Amended byPub. L. 115-278(H.R. 3359)2018-11-16
    Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally