{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-23-543","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 23-543","heading":"Possession, sale, distribution, manufacture, assembly, and advertising of wire or oral communication intercepting devices prohibited.","body":"(a)\nExcept as otherwise specifically provided in subsection (b) of this section, any person who in the District of Columbia —\n(1)\nwillfully possesses, sells, distributes, manufactures, or assembles an intercepting device, the design of which renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of a wire or oral communication; or\n(2)\nwillfully places in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publication any advertisement of —\n(A)\nany intercepting device, the design of which renders it primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of a wire or oral communication; or\n(B)\nany intercepting device where such advertisement promotes the use of such device for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of a wire or oral communication;\n\n(b)\nIt shall not be unlawful under this section for —\n(1)\na communication common carrier or an officer, agent, or employee of, or a person under contract with a communication common carrier, in the usual course of the communication common carrier’s business; or\n(2)\na person under contract with the Government of the United States, a State or a political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia, or an officer, agent, or employee of the Government of the United States, a State or a political subdivision thereof, or the District of Columbia;","path":["Title 23. Criminal Procedure. [Enacted title]","Chapter 5. Warrants and Arrests.","Subchapter III. Wire Interception and Interception of Oral Communications."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/23-543","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"9abeb256710e3de5fe1ae7588bad8b2125c6cd821bf958299e578c584f85a80b","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-23-542","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-23-544"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}