(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no person or entity that provides electronic communication service to the public shall purposely divulge the content of a communication, while it is in transmission on that service, to a person or entity other than an addressee or intended recipient of the communication or an agent of an addressee or intended recipient of the communication.

(B)

(1) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a communication being transmitted to the person or entity providing the electronic communication service or to an agent of that person or entity.

(2) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section, a person or entity that provides electronic communication service to the public may divulge the content of a communication that is in transmission on that service in any of the following circumstances:

(a) The divulgence is authorized by division (B)(2) of section 2933.52, by section 2933.581, by division (C) of section 2933.55, or by division (F) or (G) of section 2933.59 of the Revised Code or by a provision of the "Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986," 100 Stat. 1848-1857, 18 U.S.C. 2510 - 2521 (1986 ), as amended.

(b) The originator or an addressee or intended recipient of the communication has lawfully consented to the divulgence.

(c) The divulgence is made to a person who is employed or authorized, or whose facilities are used, to forward the communication to its destination.

(d) The content of the communication divulged was inadvertently obtained by the provider of the service, the content appears to pertain to the commission of a crime, and the divulgence is made to a law enforcement agency.

(C) Neither division (A) of this section nor any other provision of sections 2933.51 to 2933.66 of the Revised Code prohibits a provider of electronic communication service from recording the fact that a wire or electronic communication was initiated or completed, in order to protect the provider, another provider furnishing service toward the completion of the wire or electronic communication, or a user of the electronic communication service from fraudulent, unlawful, or abusive use of the electronic communication service.

Effective Date: 06-13-1996.