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Telephone Record Theft
Telephone Record Theft
Posted by: Damon Davis
December 13, 2011
Topic: General
The News of the World scandal involving phone hacking by the Rupert Murdoch owned paper, raises questions regarding the legal protection of telephone records. The scandal involved telephone hacking into the voicemails of crime victims and military families. Colorado makes it illegal for persons to obtain the telephone records or sell the telephone records of another. Section 18-13-125, C.R.S. The sale or purchase of such records is a misdemeanor.
Additionally, Colorado law permits an individual whose telephone records have been traded to bring a lawsuit. Section 13-21-122.5, C.R.S. Such a suit may be brought under the lower preponderance of the evidence standard, even if the perpetrators have not been found guilty of a crime. Section 13-21-122.5(1), C.R.S. The plaintiff may recover actual damages, including "to reputation or credit rating, punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs." Section 13-21-122.5(1), C.R.S. If such damages are less than $5,000 per record, the plaintiff may recover statutory damages of $5,000 per record illegally traded. Section 13-21-122.5(1), C.R.S.
It is not clear whether these statutes would apply to the voicemails allegedly hacked in the News of the World scandal. "Telephone record" is defined as "information retained by a telecommunications provider that relates to the number dialed by the customer or subscriber, to the number of a person who dialed the customer, or to other data that are typically contained on a customer's telephone bill...." Section 18-13-125(2)(d)(I), C.R.S. This specifically includes the time the call was made, the duration of the call, and any charges.
Telephone records appear directed more at billing information than recorded calls. However, voicemails would potentially have much of the same information and the definition does not require that the information be in writing. Even if the voicemails were not covered themselves, it might require information defined as a "telephone record" to hack the voicemails. It is not certain how the courts will ultimately interpret these terms and there is little, if any, judicial guidance in Colorado at this time.
It is clear that telephone hacking is not just an issue of concern to celebrities, given the News of the World's victims. In light of the scandal, and the uncertainty over the definition of telephone record, the state legislature should expand the definition to explicitly include recorded information, such as text messages and voicemails that were obtained without permission of the sender or recipient.
