(1) Nothing in sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304 shall be
interpreted to prevent a news agency, or an employee thereof, from using the
accepted tools and equipment of that news medium in the course of reporting or
investigating a public and newsworthy event; nor shall said sections prevent any
person from using wiretapping or eavesdropping devices on his own premises for
security or business purposes if reasonable notice of the use of such devices is
given to the public.
(2) No part of sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304 shall apply to the normal use of
services, facilities, and equipment provided by a provider of wire or electronic
communication service pursuant to its tariffs on file with the public utilities
commission of the state of Colorado and with the federal communications
commission; and said sections shall not apply to the normal functions of any
operator of a switchboard nor to any officer, agent, or employee of a provider of
wire or electronic communication service or other person engaged in the business
of providing service, equipment, and facilities for communication who performs an
otherwise prohibited act if such act is necessary to provide the communication
services, equipment, or facilities or is necessary in the construction, maintenance,
repair, operations, or use of the same, including the obtaining of billing and
accounting information, the protecting of the communication services, equipment,
and facilities from illegal use in violation of the tariffs referred to in this subsection
(2), the protecting of the provider of wire or electronic communication service from
the commission of fraud against it, and the providing of requested information in
response to a subpoena or court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or
on demand of other lawful authority.
(3) It shall not be unlawful under sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304 for an
officer, employee, or agent of any provider of wire or electronic communication
service or other person to provide information, facilities, or technical assistance to
an investigative or law enforcement officer who, pursuant to section 16-15-102,
C.R.S., is authorized to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication for that
purpose.
(4) A good faith reliance on a court order or the provisions of article 15 of
title 16, C.R.S., shall constitute a complete defense to any criminal action brought
under provision of sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304 or any civil action brought under
any other law of the state of Colorado. This section shall not be construed in any
manner which would allow an investigative or law enforcement officer of the state
of Colorado to engage in any wiretapping or eavesdropping without prior
authorization by a court of competent jurisdiction under the provisions of article 15
of title 16, C.R.S., except as provided in section 16-15-102 (18), C.R.S.
(4.3) It shall not be unlawful under sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304 for any
person:
(a) To intercept or access an electronic communication made through an
electronic communications system that is configured so that such electronic
communication is readily accessible to the general public;
(b) To intercept any radio communication which is transmitted by:
(I) Any station for the use of the general public or that relates to ships,
aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress;
(II) Any governmental, law enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or
public safety communications system, including police and fire, readily accessible
to the general public;
(III) A station operating on an authorized frequency within the bands
allocated to the amateur, citizens band, or general mobile radio services; or
(IV) Any marine or aeronautical communications system;
(c) To engage in any conduct which is:
(I) Prohibited by section 633 of the federal Communications Act of 1934, as
amended; or
(II) Excepted from the application of section 705 (a) of the federal
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, by section 705 (b) of said act;
(d) To intercept any wire or electronic communication, the transmission of
which is causing harmful interference to any lawfully operating station or consumer
electronic equipment, to the extent necessary to identify the source of such
interference; or
(e) For other users of the same frequency to intercept any radio
communication made through a system that utilizes frequencies monitored by
individuals engaged in the provision or the use of such system, if such
communication is not scrambled or encrypted.
(4.5) It shall not be unlawful under sections 18-9-302 to 18-9-304:
(a) To use a pen register or a trap and trace device; or
(b) For a provider of electronic communication service to record the fact that
a wire or electronic communication was initiated or completed in order to protect
such provider, another provider furnishing service toward the completion of the
wire or electronic communication, or a user of that service from fraudulent,
unlawful, or abusive use of such service.
(4.7) A person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the
public shall not intentionally divulge the contents of any communication other than
a communication to such person or entity, or an agent thereof, while in transmission
on that service to any person or entity other than an addressee or intended
recipient of such communication or an agent of such addressee or intended
recipient; except that a person or entity providing electronic communication service
to the public may divulge the contents of any such communication:
(a) As otherwise authorized in section 16-15-102 (12), (13), (14), and (16), C.R.S.,
and subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
(b) With the lawful consent of the originator or any addressee or intended
recipient of such communication;
(c) To a person employed or authorized, or whose facilities are used, to
forward such communication to its destination; or
(d) Which were inadvertently obtained by the service provider and which
appear to pertain to the commission of a crime, if such divulgence is made to a law
enforcement agency.
(4.9) It shall not be unlawful for a district attorney or law enforcement
officer to listen to a recording of or to read a transcription of the contents of an
electronic communication involving a cordless telephone when the district attorney
or law enforcement officer has come into possession of such materials from a third
party. In order to use such materials as evidence in a prosecution for a crime other
than wiretapping or eavesdropping, the district attorney or law enforcement officer
shall have a reasonable basis for believing that the recording or transcription is
reliable and shall also have separate probable cause based on corroborating
evidence to support a reasonable belief that the crime was committed. Nothing in
this subsection (4.9) shall preclude a district attorney from prosecuting a person for
a violation of section 18-9-303 or 18-9-304.
(5) The exceptions in this section shall be affirmative defenses.