Tex. Penal Code § 16.05 · Chapter 16. CRIMINAL INSTRUMENTS, INTERCEPTION OF WIRE OR ORAL COMMUNICATION, AND INSTALLATION OF TRACKING DEVICE
ILLEGAL DIVULGENCE OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) In this section, "electronic communications service" has the meaning assigned by Article 18A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) A person who provides electronic communications service to the public commits an offense if the person knowingly divulges the contents of a communication to another who is not the intended recipient of the communication.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that the actor divulged the contents of the communication:
(1) as authorized by federal or state law;
(2) to a person employed, authorized, or whose facilities are used to forward the communication to the communication's destination; or
(3) to a law enforcement agency if the contents reasonably appear to pertain to the commission of a crime.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under Subsection (b) that involves a scrambled or encrypted radio communication is a state jail felony.
(e) If committed for a tortious or illegal purpose or to gain a benefit, an offense under Subsection (b) that involves a radio communication that is not scrambled or encrypted:
(1) is a Class A misdemeanor if the communication is not a public land mobile radio service communication or a paging service communication; or
(2) is a Class C misdemeanor if the communication is a public land mobile radio service communication or a paging service communication.
(f) Repealed by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1051, Sec. 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1166, Sec. 17, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Renumbered from Penal Code Sec. 16.04 by Acts 1990, 71st Leg., 6th C.S., ch. 12, Sec. 2(24), eff. Sept. 6, 1990. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1051, Sec. 12, 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (H.B. 2931), Sec. 2.04, eff. January 1, 2019.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.16.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 dcc0fc9d4292b0409475a931510a56d3a673d0fde88e5c368c22ad845a086965
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Code of Criminal Procedure
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 16.05. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.