Reading Room Document

Applicability of Title III and the Fourth Amendment to Interceptions of Transmissions to Paging Devices

This memo addressed two questions: whether messages sent to paging devices were the type of “wire or oral communications” that fell within Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and, if not, whether there were a justifiable expectation of privacy in those messages that would necessitate a warrant before interception. First, the OLC concluded that neither Title III nor the Fourth Amendment applied to tone-only pages. Second, it concluded that although Title III did not apply to digital display pagers, the Fourth Amendment likely applied because of the expectation of privacy in the communications to those pagers. Third, it concluded that interception of communications to tone-and-voice pagers was prohibited by Title III and so did not consider the Fourth amendment questions.

January 5, 1984