Law / United States / 
Maryland
Maryland Wiretap and Electronic Surveillance Act
Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 10-401 to 10-410
In force.
An interception and recording consent rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Do not intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication, including one you take part in, unless every party has given prior consent or another exception in the subtitle applies; your own consent as a participant is not enough.
- Do not disclose or use the contents of a communication you know or have reason to know was intercepted in violation of the subtitle.
- The rule covers a voice call carried over a wire or cable connection and any electronic communication, including text, images, sound or data sent by wire or radio; it covers an in-person conversation only where the words are spoken in private conversation.
- If you provide an electronic communication service to the public, do not intentionally divulge the contents of a communication while it is in transmission to anyone other than its addressee or intended recipient, except as federal or State law authorizes, to someone forwarding it to its destination, or to law enforcement where you obtained it inadvertently and it appears to concern a crime.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
A person who violates the interception, disclosure, or use prohibition is guilty of a felony and is subject to imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. A service provider that violates the divulgence prohibition is subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, with lower fines for some first offenses involving an unscrambled radio communication.
Statutory damages
The court awards actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per person minimum
- 1,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
A private civil action under Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-410; criminal prosecution by the State.
What this law does
It is unlawful for any person to willfully intercept, disclose, or use the contents of a wire, oral, or electronic communication, except as this subtitle specifically provides. A person who is a party to the communication may intercept it only where all of the parties, not merely that person, have given prior consent, unless the interception is for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act.
The subtitle's other exceptions cover chiefly a communication service provider's own staff acting in the normal course of the service, law enforcement, and an electronic communication made through a system configured so that it is readily accessible to the general public.
The rule reaches a wire communication, a transfer containing the human voice made over a wire or cable connection, and an electronic communication, any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or data by wire, radio or a similar system; it reaches an oral communication only where the words are spoken in private conversation.
A provider of an electronic communication service to the public may not intentionally divulge the contents of a communication while in transmission on that service to anyone other than an addressee or intended recipient or their agent, except as federal or State law authorizes, to a person whose facilities forward it to its destination, or, where the provider obtained it inadvertently and it appears to pertain to a crime, to a law enforcement agency.
A person whose communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of the subtitle has a civil action for actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages computed at $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee. Good faith reliance on a court order or legislative authorization is a complete defense to a civil or criminal action.
A person who violates the interception, disclosure, or use prohibition is guilty of a felony punishable by up to 5 years' imprisonment or a $10,000 fine, or both.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app records conversations, processes voice recordings or deploys a chatbot.