Law / United States / 
Delaware
Delaware Pen Register and Trap and Trace Device Statute
In force.
A device storage and tracking consent rule binding public and private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Criminal prosecution by the State; the subchapter names no private civil action.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Do not install or use a pen register or a trap and trace device without first obtaining a court order under 11 Del. C. § 2433, unless you are a provider of wire or electronic communication service using one to operate, maintain or test your own service, to protect your rights, property or users from abuse or unlawful use, to record that a communication was initiated or completed to protect yourself, another provider, or a user from fraudulent, unlawful or abusive use, or with the consent of the user of that service; a device a provider or its customer uses for billing, or for cost accounting in the ordinary course of business, is not a pen register.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
A person who installs or uses a pen register or trap and trace device without a court order is guilty of a class A misdemeanor under 11 Del. C. § 2431(c), punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 and, under the general misdemeanor sentencing scale in § 4206(a), up to 1 year of incarceration.
What this law does
Delaware bars any person, not only a peace officer, from installing or using a pen register or a trap and trace device without first obtaining a court order under section 2433 of Title 11. A pen register does not include a device a provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service uses for billing, or recording incident to billing, or for cost accounting or similar purposes in the ordinary course of its business.
That prohibition does not reach a provider of wire or electronic communication service using such a device to operate, maintain or test its own service or protect its rights, property or users from abuse or unlawful use, to record that a communication was initiated or completed in order to protect the provider, another provider, or a user from fraudulent, unlawful or abusive use, or with the consent of the user of that service. A violation is a class A misdemeanor and is fined not more than $5,000.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app tracks devices.