HB 410: "An Act relating to the crime of unauthorized interception and distribution of electronic messages; and relating to privacy of information provided to and electronic messages handled by Internet service providers."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 410 01 "An Act relating to the crime of unauthorized interception and distribution of 02 electronic messages; and relating to privacy of information provided to and 03 electronic messages handled by Internet service providers." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 11.76 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 11.76.125. Unauthorized interception and distribution of electronic 07 messages. (a) A person who knowingly distributes to a third party, without authority 08 to do so from the writer or from the person to whom the message is addressed, an 09 electronic message that is not addressed to the person is guilty of a class A 10 misdemeanor. 11 (b) A person who knowingly intercepts, without authority to do so from the 12 writer or from the person to whom the message is addressed, an electronic message 13 that is not addressed to the person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. 14 (c) In a prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense that
01 (1) the defendant was the supervisor of the writer of the message or of 02 the person to whom the message was addressed; 03 (2) the defendant was acting in accordance with written policies of the 04 employer concerning the sending or receipt of electronic messages or use of a 05 computer provided by the employer; and 06 (3) the computer used to write or receive the message was the property 07 of the employer. 08 (d) In a prosecution under (b) of this section, it is an affirmative defense that 09 the writer of the message or the intended recipient was a minor for whose safety and 10 conduct the defendant was responsible at the time that the message was intercepted. 11 (e) In a prosecution under (a) of this section, it is an affirmative defense that 12 the writer of the message or the intended recipient was a minor for whose safety and 13 conduct the defendant was responsible at the time that the message was intercepted and 14 that the distribution was made to the parent or legal guardian of the minor. 15 (f) In this section, "distributes" includes delivery by any means, including 16 electronic mail. 17 * Sec. 2. AS 42 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 18 Chapter 50. Computers and Electronic Data. 19 Sec. 42.50.010. Privacy provisions relating to Internet service subscriptions 20 and electronic mail. (a) When an Internet service provider activates a new account 21 for a subscriber, the service provider shall directly notify the subscriber of the service 22 provider's policies regarding access to information in the possession or control of the 23 service provider. The service provider may provide the notification by mail or by 24 electronic mail, addressed to the subscriber's address and to the subscriber's personal 25 attention. The notification must include 26 (1) a description of the personal identifying information concerning the 27 subscriber in the possession of the service provider to which access will be 28 (A) available without restriction to users of the Internet; 29 (B) restricted by the service provider; 30 (2) the circumstances under which the service provider will disclose 31 contents of a subscriber's electronic mail or web site traffic to law enforcement
01 officials; 02 (3) the circumstances under which the network administrator or network 03 contractor of the service provider is permitted to review the contents of the 04 subscriber's electronic mail or web site traffic and the reasons for the review; 05 (4) the service provider's policy with regard to the resale or 06 redistribution of subscriber information, including the release of information to a third- 07 party search engine; 08 (5) a statement notifying the subscriber of the circumstances under 09 which the subscriber's personal identifying information may be recorded by others, 10 including a statement that third-party servers or web sites visited by the subscriber or 11 through which the subscriber sends electronic mail may record personal identifying 12 information of the subscriber. 13 (b) An Internet service provider that has received a request from a subscriber 14 to hold the subscriber's identifying information confidential may not resell the 15 information or redistribute the information unless the redistribution is necessary to 16 ensure the proper functioning of the network. A subscriber may request, in writing or 17 by electronic mail, that the subscriber's identifying information be treated as 18 confidential. 19 (c) In this section, 20 (1) "network contractor" means the person or entity paid directly by the 21 service provider to supply and maintain bandwidth, server space, and network support 22 software; 23 (2) "search engine" means any service available on the Internet that 24 includes the maintenance and electronic distribution of a searchable database 25 containing web sites, names, telephone numbers, mailing addresses, or electronic 26 mailing addresses.