Confidentiality of communications — secrecy of telecommunications

(1) The secrecy of telecommunications covers the content of telecommunications and their specific circumstances, in particular the fact of whether a person is or was involved in a telecommunications process. The secrecy of telecommunications also extends to the specific circumstances of unsuccessful attempts to establish a connection.
(2) The following are under a duty to maintain the secrecy of telecommunications:
1. providers of publicly available telecommunications services, as well as natural and legal persons who participate in providing such services,
2. providers of telecommunications services offered wholly or partly on a commercial basis, as well as natural and legal persons who participate in providing such services,
3. operators of public telecommunications networks, and
4. operators of telecommunications installations by means of which telecommunications services are provided on a commercial basis. The duty of confidentiality continues to exist after the activity giving rise to it has ended.
(3) Persons under a duty pursuant to paragraph 2, first sentence, are prohibited from obtaining for themselves or for others any knowledge of the content or the specific circumstances of telecommunications beyond the extent necessary for the provision of the telecommunications services or for the operation of their telecommunications networks or telecommunications installations, including the protection of their technical systems. They may use knowledge of facts subject to the secrecy of telecommunications only for the purpose stated in the first sentence. Use of this knowledge for other purposes, in particular disclosure to others, is permitted only insofar as this Act or another statutory provision so provides and expressly relates to telecommunications processes. The duty to report under section 138 of the Criminal Code takes precedence.
(4) Where the telecommunications installation is located on board a vessel or aircraft, the duty to maintain the secrecy of telecommunications does not apply as against the person operating the vessel or aircraft, or their deputy.