Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 18B.502 – Disclosure by Service Provider Prohibited
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a provider of an electronic communications service may not knowingly divulge the contents of a communication that is in electronic storage.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a provider of a remote computing service may not knowingly divulge the contents of a communication that:
(1) is in electronic storage on behalf of a subscriber or customer of the service provider;
(2) is received by means of electronic transmission from the subscriber or customer or created by means of computer processing of communications received by means of electronic transmission from the subscriber or customer; and
(3) is solely for the purpose of providing storage or computer processing services to the subscriber or customer, if the service provider is not authorized to obtain access to the contents of that communication for purposes of providing any service other than storage or computer processing.
Terms Used In Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 18B.502
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) A provider of an electronic communications service or a provider of a remote computing service may disclose the contents of an electronically stored communication:
(1) to an intended recipient of the communication or the intended recipient’s agent;
(2) to the addressee or the addressee’s agent;
(3) with the consent of the originator, to the addressee or the intended recipient of the communication, or the subscriber of a remote computing service;
(4) to a person whose facilities are used to transmit the communication to its destination or the person’s employee or authorized representative;
(5) as may be necessary to provide the service or to protect the property or rights of the service provider;
(6) to a law enforcement agency if the contents were obtained inadvertently by the service provider and the contents appear to pertain to the commission of an offense; or
(7) as authorized under federal or other state law.