On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:21:35 -0700, Mean 1
said in rec.radio.scanner:

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 15:45:22 -0500, Al Bell wrote:

Just how ferocious is the law prohibiting people from sharing what
they've heard over the scanner? In reality, can I tell my spouse about
interesting calls that I've heard?

The prohibition does not affect unencrypted government
communications.

Sorry, but the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, prohibits
disclosure of anything heard by radio EXCEPT signals broadcast to the
general public, unless you were a party to the conversation. (That
includes ONLY AM, FM and TV broadcast band stations and amateur
radio.) On-line police scanner streams are illegal, discussing what
you heard with your attorney, while privileged, is illegal, discussing
it with your spouse is illegal, etc. (It says "one", so you can
disclose it to your pets all you like, but not with any human being.)

Is the law vigorously enforced? At the moment I can recall only one
instance of enforcement, and that was disclosure of something heard
being discussed on a cell phone.

Will the authorities prohibit reception of public service frequencies?
Right now federal law specifically permits it.

Can a scanner be detected? Yes, if the person detecting it is
sufficiently educated in electronics, it can be detected in a way that
will stand up in court but, just as almost any electronics engineer
can defeat a radar speeding ticket issued by almost any police officer
(at least on paper - in some courts, having been stopped is
overwhelming evidence of guilt), almost any electronics engineer will
be able to defeat a "scanner" ticket. The evidence is far from
"beyond a reasonable doubt". In fact, it's highly doubtful evidence.