tion by radio and use the same or any information therein contained for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto; and no person having received any intercepted radio communication or having become acquainted with the contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the same or any part thereof, knowing that such information was so obtained, shall divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the same or any part thereof, or use the same or any information therein contained for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto : Provided, That this section shall not apply to the receiving, divulging, publishing, or utilizing the contents of any radio communication broadcast, or transmitted by amateurs or others for the use of the general public, or relating to ships in distress."

SEPARABILITY

SEC. 12. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the other provisions of this Act and the application of any provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

[H.R. 7760, 90th Cong., first sess.]

A BILL To protect the right of privacy by prohibiting wire interception and eavesdropping, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress asembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Right of Privacy Act of 1967".

SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds and declares that

(a) Wire communications are normally conducted through the use of facilities which form part of an interstate network. The same facilities are used for both interstate and intrastate communcations. In order effectively to protect the integrity of interstate wire communications and the privacy of parties to such communications it is necessary for the Congress to prohibit the interception of any wire communication usng such facilties.

(b) Electronic, mechanical, and other eavesdropping devices are being used to overhear private conversations. The manufacture, distribution, and use of these devices are facilitated by interstate commerce. To secure the privacy of conversations, it is necessary for the Congress to exercise its power under the Constitution to prohibit such manufacture, distribution, and use.

SEC. Title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting immediately folowing section 2424 a new chapter, to be composed of sections 2510 through 2515 as follows:

"Sec.

"Chapter 120.-WIRE INTERCEPTION AND EAVESDROPPING

"2510. Wire interception.

"2511. Eavesdropping.

"2512. Manufacture and distribution of wire interception and eavesdropping devices. "2513. Confiscation of wire interception and eavesdropping devices.

"2514. National security.

"2515. Definitions.

" 2510. Wire interception

"(a) Any person who, whether acting under color of law or otherwise

(1) willfully intercepts or attempts to intercept any wire communication without the consent of at least one sender or receiver of such communication; or

"(2) willfully discloses or attempts to disclose, or uses or attempts to use, any information, knowing or having reason to know that such information was obtained in violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

"(b) It shall not be unlawful under this section (1) for an operator of a switchboard, or an officer, employee or agent of any communications common carrier whose facilities are used in the transmission of wire communications, to intercept, disclose, or use that communication in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any activity which is a necessary incident of the rendition of service; or (2) for an officer, employee, or agent of the Federal Communications Commission, in the normal course of his employment and in 77-540-67- -57

discharge of the monitoring responsibilities exercised by the Commission in the enforcement of the Federal Communications Act, to intercept a wire communication while it is being transmitted by radio, or to disclose or use the information thereby obtained.

"§ 2511. Eavesdropping

"(a) Any person who, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, willfully uses or attempts to use any electronic, mechanical or other device for the purpose of eavesdropping without the consent of at least one party to the conversation when

"(1) such device is affixed to any wire, cable, or other connection used in wire communication; or

"(2) such device transmits communications by radio; or

"(3) such person knows, or has reason to know, that such device or any component thereof has been sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or

"(4) such use or atempted use (A) takes place on the premises of any business or other commercial establishment the operations of which affect interstate or foreign commerce; or (B) obtains or is for the purpose of obtaining information relating to the operations of any business or other commercial establishment the operations of which affect interstate or foreign commerce; or

"(5) such persons acts in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States; or "(b) Any person who, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, willfully discloses or attempts to disclose, or uses or attempts to use, any information, knowing or having reason to know that such information was obtained in violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

"§ 2512. Manufacture and distribution of wire interception and eavesdropping devices

"Any person who

"(a) Except as a common carrier in the usual course of its business, sends through the mail or sends or carries in interstate or foreign commerce any electronic, mechanical or other device, knowing or having reason to know that the design of such device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of wire interception or eavesdropping; or

"(b) Manufactures or assembles any electronic, mechanical, or other device, the design of which renders it primarily useful for the purpose of wire interception or eavesdropping, knowing or having reason to know that such device or any component thereof has been or will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or

"(c) Places in any newspaper, magazine, handbill or other publication any advertisement of

"(1) any electronic, mechanical, or other device, the design of which renders it primarily useful for the purpose of wire interception or eavesdropping; or

"(2) any other electronic, mechanical, or other device, where such advertisement promotes the use of such device for the purpose of wire interception or eavesdropping,

knowing or having reason to know that such advertisement will be sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

"S 2513. Confiscation of wire interception and eavesdropping devices

"Any electronic, mechanical or other device used, sent, carried, manufactured or assembled in violation of section 2510, 2511, or 2512 shall be seized and forfeited to the United States. All provisions of law relating to the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violation of the customs law; the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from the sale thereof: the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures; and the compromise of claims and the award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred. under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof; except that such duties as are imposed upon the collector of customs or any other person with respect to the seizure and for

feiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage under the customs laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and forfeitures of electronic, mechanical or other devices under this section by such officers, agents, or other presons as may be authorized or designated for that purpose by the Attorney General.

" 2514. National security

"Nothing contained in this chapter or in section 605 of the Communications Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 1103; 47 U.S.C. 605) shall limit the constitutional power of the President to take such measures as he deems necessary to protect the Nation against actual or potential attack or other hostile acts of a foreign power or any other serious threat to the security of the United States, or to protect national security information against foreign intelligence activities. No information obtained directly or indirectly, in the exercise of such power, by wire interception or eavesdropping otherwise prohibited by this chapter shall be received in evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. Neither shall such information be otherwise used or divulged except as necessary to implement such power.

" 2515. Definitions

"In this chapter

"(a) The term 'wire communication' means any communication made in whole or part by aid of wire, cable, or other connection furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of interstate or foreign communications.

"(b) The term 'intercept' means the act of acquiring all or any part of any wire communication from the facility transmitting the communiaction through use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device.

"(c) The term 'eavesdropping' means surreptitiously listening to, monitoring, transmitting, amplifying, or recording a private conversation. "(d) The term 'electronic, mechanical, or other device' does not include

"(1) an extension telephone instrument furnished to the subscriber or user by a communications common carrier in the ordinary course of its business; or

"(2) a hearing aid or similar device used by a person with impaired hearing, for the purpose of overcoming the impairment and permitting the hearing of sounds ordinarily audible to the human ear."

SEC. 4. The table of contents to "Part I.-CRIMES" of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after

"117. White Slave Traffic................

a new chapter reference as follows:
"120. Wire Interception and Eavesdropping_-.

2421"

2510".

SEC. 5. Section 605 of the Communications Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 1103; 47 U.S.C. 605) is hereby amended to read as follows:

"No person receiving or assisting in receiving, or transmitting, or assisting in transmitting, any interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio shall divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning thereof, except through authorized channels of transmission or reception, to any person other than the addressee, his agent, or attorney, or to a person employed or authorized to forward such communication to its destination, or to proper accounting or distributing officers of the various communicating centers over which the communication may be passed, or to the master of a ship under whom he is serving, or in response to a subpena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, or on demand of other lawful authority; and no person not being authorized by the sender shall intercept any radio communication and divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of such intercepted communication to any person; and no person not being entitled thereto shall receive or assist in receiving any interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio and use the same or any information therein contained for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto; and no person having received any intercepted radio communication or having become acquainted with the contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the same or any part thereof, knowing that such information was so obtained, shall divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the same or any part thereof, or use the same or any information therein contained for his own benefit or for the benefit of another not entitled thereto : Provided, however, The+

this section shall not apply to receiving, divulging, publishing, or utilizing the contents of any radio communication broadcast for the use of the general public, or transmitted by amateurs or others, or relating to ships in distress."

SEC. 6. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

STATEMENT OF HON. PETER W. RODINO, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Mr. ROGERS. Please continue in your own manner, Mr. Rodino. Mr. RODINO. I am privileged to express my support for the Right of Privacy Act of 1967 (H.R. 5386) and the act to establish a Federal Judicial Center (H.R. 5385). These two proposals are designed to strengthen the American system of justice.

Each of us is entitled to the privacy of our own inner thoughts and beliefs. The American people are rightfully jealous of their right of privacy. Our Bill of Rights expressly recognizes the right of privacy when it prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, unrestricted warrants, and compelled self-incrimination.

In his message to Congress on the report of the National Crime Commission, President Johnson declared: "We would indeed be indifferent to the command of our heritage if we failed to take effective action to preserve the dignity and privacy of each among us."

The technology of modern electronics has generated a variety of sophisticated devices that make it possible for any person to violate the right of his neighbor to the privacy of his conversations. With the passage of time the capacity of the eavesdropper to hear and record has been refined and will continue to be refined. It is time for the Federal Government to take strong action to protect the right of privacy against these electronic intrusions that threaten to consume it.

Unrestricted invasions of privacy by these devices are too great to permit their exploitation even by our Government agents acting in the name of law enforcement. The legitimate needs of law enforcement can be met without the use of such devices.

Some have suggested that limited wiretapping and eavesdropping under judicial supervision be allowed. An attack against just such a New York State law has been brought to the Supreme Court in the case of Berger v. New York. No matter what the Court decides on the constitutional issues, this insidious practice should be eradicated by statute.

Yes, there is a serious crime situation in our country. But crime can be fought and detected by other more effective means. Electronic surveillance no matter how closely regulated leads to large-scale unfocussed intrusions on personal privacy.

President Johnson in his state of the Union address on January 10, and in his recent crime message, called for the protection of the right of privacy by outlawing all wiretapping--public and private-except when the security of the Nation itself is at stake. He further called on Congress to exercise the full right of its constitutional powers to outlaw electronic eavesdropping on private conversations.

Section 605 of the 1934 Federal Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 605) prohibits "interception and divulgence" and has long been interpreted to allow mere interception as long as there was no divulgence.

This legislative loophole has literally opened the door to widespread wiretapping.

To close this gap the proposed Right of Privacy Act of 1967 establishes a blanket prohibition against the interception of wire communications. Wire communications necessarily involve the use of interstate communications networks. Congress has plenary power in this area. Eavesdropping through the use of highly sophisticated electronic devices, extremely portable and easily concealable, poses a most unimaginable threat to the privacy of conversations. These instruments can indiscriminately overhear and record conversations anywhere— at home, office, car, in open country, and on social engagements-even the most private and intimate conversations-without physically trespassing on private property. These devices can even be implanted on the human person.

The act provides a comprehensive ban on the use of electronic, mechanical, or other devices for the purpose of eavesdropping.

These wiretapping and eavesdropping prohibitions apply only where none of the parties to the conversation has consented to such activity. The Supreme Court has upheld the use of electronic devices where one of the parties has authorized it.

The act excludes from its prohibition wiretapping or eavesdropping activities authorized by the President in circumstances where the national security is at stake. Even in this narrow area, however, the statute prohibits use of any information so gained as evidence in judicial or administrative proceedings. Other use or disclosure of such information is prohibited, except as necessary in the interest of national security. The national security exception is a necessary provision and the evidentiary restrictions will serve to confine such activity to extremely narrow bounds.

The administration of justice in the U.S. courts is a vital matter to our society. Increasing court congestion threatens to swamp our judicial system. The mere addition of judges and supporting personnel does not solve the problem. More efficient administration is necessary, new approaches in scheduling the courts' business must be found, and perhaps some of the advances made possible by computer and other technical breakthroughs should be adopted.

H.R. 5385 will help solve these problems. It will set up, in the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, a Federal judicial center which will have a threefold mission: (1) to conduct research in the area of Federal judicial administration; (2) to carry out and develop programs of continuing education and training for judicial personnel: and (3) to provide staff, research, and planning assistance to the Judicial Conference of the United States and its committees.

I can offer no better reason to support the enactment of H.R. 5385 than the words of our Chief Executive. A Federal judicial center. President Johnson said, "will enable the courts to begin the kind of self-analysis, research, and planning necessary for a more effective judicial system *** and for better justice in America."

Mr. ROGERS. Thank you, Mr. Rodino; as always, we appreciate receiving your comments.

The next witness this morning is our distinguished colleague, the Hon. Claude Pepper, Representative from the State of Florida, and an esteemed Member who is interested in this legislation.