Maryland State Legislature, House Bill HB1627, Sponsored by Del. Joan Pitkin. Bill died in committee, Mar. 24, 1994, unfortunately, mainly due to lack of citizen activism to show support, counteract negative commentary from telco and cableco reps, and educate less clueful members of the committee. Delegate Pitkin February 25, 1994 Economic Matters A BILL ENTITLED AN ACT concerning Nonbroadcast Telecommunications - Privacy FOR the purpose of authorizing a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to obtain and use certain information relating to subscribers or users or former subscribers or users of nonbroadcast telecommunications services under certain circumstances; prohibiting a nonbroadcast telecommunications company from doing so under other circumstances; permitting a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to intercept certain signals and send certain signals from nonbroadcast telecommunications users or subscribers under certain circumstances; establishing certain procedures; requiring a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to send certain notices; prohibiting certain terms in solicitations and contracts for nonbroadcast telecommunications service; providing civil remedies for certain violations of this Act; providing certain criminal penalties for certain violations of this Act; regulating governmental access to certain information under certain circumstances; requiring certain governmental bodies to adopt certain rules and regulations; defining certain terms; prohibiting certain acts; providing that this Act may not be construed to contravene any federal law or regulation; providing that this Act is in addition to, and not in substitution of, any common-law right to privacy; providing for the severability of this Act; and generally relating to nonbroadcast telecommunications. BY adding to Article - Business Regulation Section 13A-101 through 13A-506, inclusive, to be under the new title "Title 13A. Nonbroadcast Telecommunications Privacy Act" Annotated Code of Maryland (1992 Volume and 1993 Supplement)BY adding to Article - Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 10-401(18) Annotated Code of Maryland (1989 Replacement Volume and 1993 Supplement)BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, Article - Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 10-401(1), (3), (7), (9), and (10), 10-402(a), (b), (d), (e), and (f), 10-403(a), 10-404, and 10-410 Annotated Code of Maryland (1989 Replacement Volume and 1993 Supplement)BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, Article - Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 10-403(b)(1) Annotated Code of Maryland (1989 Replacement Volume and 1993 Supplement)Preamble It is the intent of the General Assembly, by enacting this title, to protect the personal privacy of individuals and their households who use nonbroadcast telecommunications in Maryland. This title shall be broadly construed in order to protect the privacy of Maryland's citizenry; now, therefore, SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: Article - Business Regulation Title 13A. Nonbroadcast Telecommunications Privacy Act Subtitle 1. Definitions 13A-101. (a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated. (b) (1) "Cable television system" means any system that operates for hire the service of receiving and amplifying programs broadcast by one or more television and radio stations and any other programs originated by a nonbroadcast telecommunications company or by another party, and that distributes the programs by wire, cable, microwave, or other means to persons in one or more counties or other political subdivisions in this State who subscribe to such service. (2) "Cable television system" does not include any system that serves fewer than 50 subscribers. (c) "Communications satellite system" means a communication system in which signals are transmitted or retransmitted by space stations and emissions are received from one or more space stations by receiving equipment at any number of points on the earth's surface. (d) "Government authority" means any valid governing agency or instrumentality, or any officer, employee, or agent of the United States, or of any state, commonwealth, territory possession, or political subdivision. (e) "Individually identifiable information" means any information transmitted from a subscriber or user terminal that may identify any person as a nonbroadcast telecommunications system or service user, or that otherwise provides information about that person or that person's use of any nonbroadcast telecommunications service. (f) "Interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications service" means a nonbroadcast telecommunications service that collects, receives, aggregates, stores, or uses any information contained in any signal transmitted from subscriber or user terminals over upstream nonbroadcast telecommunications channels. (g) "Interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications system" means a nonbroadcast telecommunications system that is capable of transmitting signals of any type from a subscriber or user terminal over an upstream nonbroadcast telecommunications channel to any other point in the nonbroadcast telecommunications system including a nonbroadcast telecommunications company. (h) "Intercept" means the acquiring of a signal transmitted over a cable television system or any associated communication system. (i) "Local cable commission" means the board or commission authorized or designated by the governing body of a county or other local political subdivision to regulate nonbroadcast telecommunications companies or services within that county or other local political subdivision. (j) "Nonbroadcast telecommunications company" means a person who owns, controls, operates, manages, or leases one or more nonbroadcast telecommunications systems in the State, and its offices, employees, or agents. (k) "Nonbroadcast telecommunications service" means a service or product offered for sale or subscription or at no cost in conjunction with another service or product, offered over one or more nonbroadcast telecommunications systems. (l) "Nonbroadcast telecommunications system" means any facilities including, but not limited to, cable television systems, communications satellite systems and related terminal equipment, and other modes of transmitting, emitting, or receiving images or sounds or intelligence by means of wire, radio, optical, electromagnetic, or other means, operated for hire, or in conjunction with the offering with another service or product for sale or lease, to persons in one or more counties or other political subdivisions in this State. (m) "Person" means an individual, trustee, partnership, association, corporation, government authority, or other legal entity. (n) "Service" means any program, signal, message, graphics, data, or communication transmitted over a nonbroadcast telecommunications system. (o) "Subscriber" means any person who contracts with a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to intercept any signal transmitted by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company or to transmit any signal from a user terminal over an upstream communications channel. (p) "Subscriber or user response" includes refusing or declining to respond. (q) "Subscriber or user terminal" means any terminal within the home, business, or other location of a subscriber or user connected to the nonbroadcast telecommunications system or related communication system that: (1) Enables a subscriber or user to perform various functions relating to a nonbroadcast telecommunications service including selecting a service or channel or responding to nonbroadcast telecommunications company requests for information; or (2) Transmits any signal in the upstream communications channel. (r) "Upstream communications channel" means a signaling path provided by a nonbroadcast telecommunications system to transmit signals of any type from a user terminal to another point in the nonbroadcast telecommunications system. (s) "User" means any person who operates a user terminal to gain access to a service as a defined herein or to send any signal from or user terminal over an upstream communications channel. (t) "User response" includes refusing or declining to respond. (u) "User terminal" means any terminal, or the connection point of any equipment, power, or signal, within the home, business, or other location accessible to any user that is connected to any nonbroadcast telecommunications system that: (1) Enables a user to perform various functions relating to a nonbroadcast telecommunications service including, but not limited to, selecting a service or channel or responding to nonbroadcast telecommunications company requests for information; or (2) Transmits any signal in the upstream communications channel. Subtitle 2. Subscribers' and users' authorizations, contracts, and requests 13A-201. (a) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company may collect, receive, store, aggregate, and use any individually identifiable information that is authorized in writing by the subscriber or user under Sec. 13A-203 of this subtitle, unless otherwise prohibited by law. (b) A subscriber's or user's authorization under Sec. 13A-203 of this subtitle is not necessary for a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to collect, receive, store, aggregate, and use any individually identifiable information that is: (1) Necessary to bill subscribers or users for the purchase of any nonbroadcast telecommunications service; (2) Necessary to provide any subscriber or user with any nonbroadcast telecommunications services for which the subscriber or user has contracted; or (3) Necessary to verify that there is no unauthorized interception of nonbroadcast telecommunications services. (c) If a subscriber or user cancels or terminates that subscriber's or user's contract with a nonbroadcast telecommunications company for nonbroadcast telecommunications services: (1) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall eliminate, within a reasonable time, all individually identifiable information relating to that subscriber or user from all files, data banks, or other records of the company; (2) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company may retain individually identifiable information about the subscriber or user solely for its own business purposes relating to the former subscriber's or user's billing; and (3) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall inform the former subscriber or user that the former subscriber or user may request, and on request the nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall send to the former subscriber's or user's last known address, a statement that: (i) Lists the items of individually identifiable information relating to the former subscriber or user, which the nonbroadcast telecommunications company retains under subsection (c)(2) of this section; and (ii) States that all other individually identifiable information relating to the former subscriber or user has been eliminated from the nonbroadcast telecommunications company's files, data banks, or other records. (d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, a nonbroadcast telecommunications company may conduct systemwide electronic sweeps for the sole purpose of: (1) Verifying that there is no unauthorized reception of nonbroadcast telecommunications service; (2) Monitoring for the sole purpose of billing; (3) Maintaining the integrity and proper functioning of the nonbroadcast telecommunications system; and (4) Collecting and aggregating nonindividually identifiable information in order to determine aggregate viewer service preferences. (e) Individually identifiable information relating to a subscriber or user shall be destroyed by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company: (1) On completion of the permissible uses of that information; and (2) On revocation of the subscriber's or user's authorization to use that information for those permissible uses. 13A-202. A person other than a nonbroadcast telecommunications company may not use or disclose any individually identifiable information about a subscriber or user or former subscriber or user unless the person knows or has reason to know that the use or disclosure was authorized under this title. 13A-203. (a) (1) A subscriber or user may authorize in writing a nonbroadcast telecommunications company to collect, receive, store, aggregate, and use individually identifiable information relating to that subscriber or user for specifically stated purposes. Each such purpose shall be specified in the written authorization. (2) A blanket authorization relating to all uses of individually identifiable information, without specifying what those uses are or will be, may not be solicited from a subscriber or user or prospective subscriber or user. If a subscriber or user signs a blanket authorization, it is void for all purposes. (3) The authorization under this section shall be signed by the subscriber or user to be valid. (b) (1) A subscriber's or user's written authorization obtained under this section may not be required by a nonbroadcast telecommunications company as a condition of receiving any interactive or noninteractive nonbroadcast telecommunications service. (2) A subscriber's or user's authorization shall be contained in a document separate from any contract for nonbroadcast telecommunications service signed by the subscriber or user. (3) (i) A subscriber or user may revoke any authorization given under this section at any time by a writing sent by registered mail to the nonbroadcast telecommunications company. (ii) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall comply with the revocation request within 10 days of its receipt. (4) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company may not invoke a penalty of any kind for the failure of a subscriber or user to provide, or the revocation by the subscriber or user of, the written authorization required under this section. (c) Any individually identifiable information relating to a subscriber or user that is collected or received by a nonbroadcast telecommunications company through subscriber or user response to a request for information in connection with any interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications service shall be used only for the purposes described in the notice given under subsection (d) of this section. (d) Before a subscriber or user signs the written authorization under this section, the nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall notify the subscriber or user in writing of: (1) The types of individually identifiable information that will be collected, received, stored, aggregated, or used; (2) The purposes for which that information will be used; and (3) The specific rights that the subscriber or user is given under this section. 13A-204. (a) In an interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications system, the nonbroadcast telecommunications company may elicit subscriber or user responses to requests for information during a transmission if: (1) The information elicited is not kept in any form that would be individually identifiable information relating to that subscriber or user; or (2) (i) Specifically authorized in writing under Sec. 13A-203 of this subtitle; and (ii) Immediately prior to or contemporaneous with any request for information from a subscriber or user during any interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications transmission, the nonbroadcast telecommunications company notifies the subscriber or user: 1. How the information will be used; 2. Of the class of persons who will have access to the information; and 3. That the subscriber or user may decline to respond to the request for information. (b) A notification every 10 minutes or 3 times at 10-minute intervals during any 30 minutes of programming or service shall be sufficient notification for the purposes of this section. 13A-205. (a) (1) Within 10 days of receiving a written request by a subscriber or user, a nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall provide the subscriber or user with copies of all individually identifiable information relating to the subscriber or user currently maintained by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company. (2) If any individually identifiable information exists in machine readable form only, the nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall translate this information into nontechnical plain language and provide the requesting subscriber or user with a copy of the translation. (b) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall make the disclosures required under subsection (a) of this section to the subscriber or user in person at the nonbroadcast telecommunications company offices or by mail at the request of the subscriber or user. (c) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company may charge a subscriber or user only for the cost of making any copies of information provided to the subscriber or user under this section, and for reasonable mailing expenses. 13A-206. (a) Before a contract is made for any interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications service or services, a nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall provide the prospective subscriber or user with the following notice printed in at least 10 point bold type: "Notice: See accompanying statement for important information regarding your rights to privacy protection." (b) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company shall also provide the prospective subscriber or user with the following notice printed conspicuously in at least 8 point bold type below or on the reverse side of the notice: "Your rights to privacy protection Title 13A of the Business Regulation Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland requires the following: (1) The nonbroadcast telecommunications company may not allow signals to be transmitted from your nonbroadcast telecommunications terminal over the nonbroadcast telecommunications system for purposes of monitoring your viewing patterns or practices without your written authorization. No authorization is needed for the nonbroadcast telecommunications company to conduct systemwide or individually addressed electronic sweeps for the sole purpose of verifying system integrity or monitoring for the sole purpose of billing or for determining viewer program or services preferences in the aggregate. (2) Your written authorization for such signal transmission may not be required by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company as a condition of receiving any interactive or noninteractive nonbroadcast telecommunications service. (3) A penalty of any kind may not be invoked by the nonbroadcast telecommunications service for your failure to give written authorization for the signal transmission. (4) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company may not collect, receive, store, aggregate, or use individually identifiable information relating to you or anyone using your terminal or service without your written authorization. The nonbroadcast telecommunications company may, however, collect, receive, store, aggregate, or use this information as necessary to maintain system integrity or bill you for the purchase of any nonbroadcast telecommunications service. (5) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company may collect, receive, store, aggregate, or use only individually identifiable information relating to you as necessary to provide the nonbroadcast telecommunications services requested by you and only in accordance with the notification given you on application for that nonbroadcast telecommunications service. (6) Individually identifiable information relating to you or anyone using your terminal or service must be destroyed by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company within a reasonable time when that information is no longer used or useful for providing nonbroadcast telecommunications service to you, or when you no longer subscribe to or use the service, or when you revoke your authorization relating to that purpose. When you are no longer a subscriber to or user of the nonbroadcast telecommunications system, you will be notified that you may request and receive a statement mailed to your last known address listing the individually identifiable information retained by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company, and stating that all other individually identifiable information has been destroyed. (7) You must be notified how any individual information requested during any interactive nonbroadcast telecommunications service will be used. You have the right to decline to respond to such requests. (8) Individually identifiable information relating to you may not be disclosed by the nonbroadcast telecommunications company or by any other person to any person, other than yourself, including any government authority, without your written authorization, or by a court order issued under certain circumstances. (9) If the nonbroadcast telecommunications company has notified you of the types of disclosures and the class of persons to whom disclosures will be made, you may give written authorization for such disclosures. You may not be requested to sign a blanket authorization to use that information for all purposes. (10) On your written request, the nonbroadcast telecommunications company must, within 10 days of receiving your request, provide you with all individually identifiable information relating to you currently maintained by the company. The information must be made available to you in person or by mail, at your request. The nonbroadcast telecommunications company may only charge you its costs for making copies of this information available to you and for reasonable mailing costs. (11) You may not be requested to waive any of these rights." Subtitle 3. Civil Actions 13A-301. (a) Any person who discloses individually identifiable information in violation of this subtitle or who otherwise engages in conduct in violation of this subtitle shall be civilly liable to the aggrieved subscriber or user or former subscriber or user, either individually or as members of a class, for: (1) All actual damages sustained by the subscriber or user or former subscriber or user or the class as a result of the disclosure; and (2) Liquidated damages of $500 for each subscriber or user or former subscriber or user. (b) Any person entitled to recover under this section shall receive reasonable attorney fees and costs. (c) The court may award the aggrieved subscriber or user or former subscriber or user punitive damages for the willful or intentional disclosure of individually identifiable information in violation of this subtitle. (d) An action under this section may not be brought later than 2 years from the date of the discovery of the violation, but in no case shall an action be brought later than 5 years from the date of the violation. 13A-302. (a) A circuit court in a county or other political subdivision where the nonbroadcast telecommunications system operates may enjoin any nonbroadcast telecommunications company or any other person from violating or continuing to violate this subtitle on application by: (1) Any aggrieved subscriber or user or former subscriber or user, individually or as members of a class; (2) Any local cable or nonbroadcast telecommunications commission in its own name or the name of any aggrieved subscriber or user or former subscriber or user; or (3) Any county or other political subdivision, if no cable or nonbroadcast telecommunications commission has been authorized or designated by that county or other political subdivision, in its own name or in the name of any aggrieved subscriber or user or former subscriber or user. (b) The injunction shall be granted: (1) Without the necessity of showing a lack of an adequate remedy at law; and (2) Without requiring proof that any person has been or will be damaged or injured. (c) On granting an injunction under this section, the court may award the applicant reasonable attorney fees and costs. Subtitle 4. Criminal Penalties 13A-401. (a) (1) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company or any other person who provides any individually identifiable information in violation of this subtitle to a person not authorized to receive that information is guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 for each offense. (2) A nonbroadcast telecommunications company or any other person who willfully provides any individually identifiable information in violation of this subtitle to a person not authorized to receive that information is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year or both. (b) Each subscriber's or user's individually identifiable information so provided may constitute a separate offense. 13A-402. (a) Any person who knowingly obtains individually identifiable information concerning a subscriber or user or former subscriber or user from a nonbroadcast telecommunications company under false pretenses, by deception, by false or fraudulent representation, or otherwise in violation of this subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year or both. (b) Each subscriber's or user's individually identifiable information so obtained may constitute a separate offense. 13A-403. (a) Any person who intercepts a signal of an upstream communications channel transmitted from a subscriber or user terminal, except the subscriber or user and the intended receiver of the signal, is guilty of a felony, and on conviction shall be subject to a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. (b) Each day a subscriber's or user's individually identifiable information is so intercepted shall give rise to a separate offense. Subtitle 5. Miscellaneous Provisions 13A-501. Any subscriber or user waiver of rights conferred by this subtitle shall be prohibited and is hereby declared to be void and against public policy. 13A-502. (a) A governmental authority may not obtain from a nonbroadcast telecommunications company individually identifiable information relating to any subscriber or user, except with the subscriber's or user's written authorization, or with a valid warrant granted under Sec. 10-408 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, for investigating violations of this subtitle and unlawful interception of nonbroadcast telecommunications services or transmissions. (b) A governmental authority that owns and operates a nonbroadcast telecommunications system may obtain information under the same terms and conditions as any nonbroadcast telecommunication company under this title. 13A-503. The notices required under this title shall be furnished to all current subscribers or users of nonbroadcast telecommunications services offered by any nonbroadcast telecommunications company operating in this State. 13A-504. The local cable or nonbroadcast telecommunications commission, or the governing body of a county or other local governmental subdivision if no local cable or nonbroadcast telecommunications commission has been established, shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations: (1) That define general classes of uses for and general classes of persons having access to individually identifiable information for the purposes of subscriber or user authorization under Sec. 13A-203 of this title; (2) To permit the subscriber or user access to records of individually identifiable information relating to that subscriber or user; (3) To permit the subscriber or user to correct any false or otherwise erroneous information relating to the subscriber or user or the subscriber's or user's individually identifiable information within a reasonable period of time after the subscriber or user discovered the false or otherwise erroneous information; (4) To make violations of this subtitle grounds for revocation or suspension of franchise; (5) To examine and inspect security procedures to insure adequate protection of individually identifiable information, including the use of prior approval of security systems, on-site inspections, and security audits; and (6) To otherwise enforce the provisions of this subtitle. 13A-505. Nothing in this subtitle may be construed to contravene any federal law or regulation. 13A-506. This subtitle is in addition to, and not in substitution of, any common-law right to privacy. Article - Courts and Judicial Proceedings 10-401. As used in this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated: (1) (i) "Wire communication" means any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception (including the use of a connection in a switching station) furnished or operated by any person licensed to engage in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of communications. (ii) "Wire communication" includes any electronic storage of a communication described in this paragraph. (iii) "Wire communication" does not include the radio portion of a cordless telephone communication that is transmitted between the cordless telephone handset and the base unit. (3) "Intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device. (7) "Contents", when used with respect to any wire, oral, or electronic communication, includes any information concerning the identity of the parties to the communication or the existence, substance, purport, or meaning of that communication. (9) "Communications common carrier" means any person engaged as a common carrier for hire in the transmission of wire or electronic communications. (10) "Aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to any intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication or a person against whom the interception was directed. (18) "Nonbroadcast telecommunications company" has the meaning stated in Sec. 13A-101(j) of the Business Regulation Article. 10-402. (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this subtitle it is unlawful for any person to: (1) Wilfully intercept, endeavor to intercept, or procure any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication; (2) Wilfully disclose, or endeavor to disclose, to any other person the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, oral, or electronic communication in violation of this subtitle; or (3) Wilfully use, or endeavor to use, the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire, oral, or electronic communication in violation of this subtitle. (b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a felony and is subject to imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. (d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the public may not intentionally divulge the contents of any communication (other than one to the person or entity providing the service, or an agent of the person or entity) while in transmission on that service to any person or entity other than an addressee or intended recipient of the communication or an agent of the addressee or intended recipient. (2) A person or entity providing electronic communication service to the public may divulge the contents of a communication: (i) As otherwise authorized by federal or State law; (ii) To a person employed or authorized, or whose facilities are used, to forward the communication to its destination; or (iii) That were inadvertently obtained by the service provider and that appear to pertain to the commission of a crime, if the divulgence is made to a law enforcement agency. (e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection or in subsection (f) of this section, a person who violates subsection (d) of this section is subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. (2) If an offense is a first offense under paragraph (1) of this subsection and is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain, and the wire or electronic communication with respect to which the offense occurred is a radio communication that is not scrambled or encrypted, and: (i) The communication is not the radio portion of a cellular telephone communication, a public land mobile radio service communication, or a paging service communication, the offender is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both; or (ii) The communication is the radio portion of a cellular telephone communication, a public land mobile radio service communication, or a paging service communication, the offender is subject to a fine of not more than $500. (3) Unless the conduct is for the purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private financial gain, conduct which would otherwise be an offense under this subsection is not an offense under this subsection, if the conduct consists of or relates to the interception of a satellite transmission that is not encrypted or scrambled and that is transmitted: (i) To a broadcasting station for purposes of retransmission to the general public; or (ii) As an audio subcarrier intended for redistribution to facilities open to the public, but not including data transmissions or telephone calls. (f) (1) A person who engages in conduct in violation of this subtitle is subject to suit by the federal government or by the State in a court of competent jurisdiction, if the communication is: (i) A private satellite video communication that is not scrambled or encrypted and the conduct in violation of this subtitle is the private viewing of that communication, and is not for a tortious or illegal purpose, or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage, or private commercial gain; or (ii) A radio communication that is transmitted on frequencies allocated under Subpart D of Part 74 of the Rules of the Federal Communications Commission that is not scrambled or encrypted and the conduct in violation of this subtitle is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain. (2) (i) The State is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief in an action under this subsection if the violation is the person's first offense under subsection (e)(1) of this section and the person has not been found liable in a prior civil action under Sec. 10-410 of this subtitle. (ii) In an action under this subsection, if the violation is a second or subsequent offense under subsection (e)(1) of this section or if the person has been found liable in a prior civil action under Sec. 10-410 of this subtitle, the person is subject to a mandatory civil fine of not less than $500. (3) The court may use any means within its authority to enforce an injunction issued under paragraph (2)(i) of this subsection, and shall impose a civil fine of not less than $500 for each violation of an injunction issued under paragraph (2)(i) of this subsection. 10-403. (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this subtitle, any person who manufactures, assembles, possesses, or sells any electronic, mechanical, or other device, knowing or having reason to know that the design of the device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, is guilty of a felony and is subject to imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. (b) It is lawful under this section for: (1) A provider of wire or electronic communication service, including a nonbroadcast telecommunications company, or an officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract with, a service provider, in the normal course of the business of providing that wire or electronic communication service to manufacture, assemble, possess, or sell any electronic, mechanical, or other device knowing or having reason to know that the design of the device renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications. 10-404. Any electronic, mechanical, or other device used, manufactured, assembled, possessed, or sold, in violation of Sec. 10-402 or Sec. 10- 403 of this subtitle may be seized and forfeited to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services of the State of Maryland. 10-410. (a) Any person whose wire, oral, or electronic communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of this subtitle shall have a civil cause of action against any person who intercepts, discloses, or uses, or procures any other person to intercept, disclose, or use the communications, and be entitled to recover from any person: (1) Actual damages but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher; (2) Punitive damages; and (3) A reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. (b) A good faith reliance on a court order or legislative authorization shall constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this subtitle or under any other law. SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That if any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason in a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or any other application of this Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and for this purpose the provisions of this Act are declared severable. SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect October 1, 1994.