Stored Communications Act, unlawful access to stored communications (18 U.S.C. 2701(a))
Accessing stored email or chat without authorization, or beyond the authorization given, is an offense. For a company exporting its own workspace this mostly matters at the edges: pulling messages from a system the company does not control or is not authorised to export (an employee's personal Gmail, a vendor account outside the company tenant) is the risk, not reading the company's own server.
Dated 17 Oct 2026Source checked 17 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
In the source's own words
“(a) Offense. ... Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section whoever ... (1) intentionally accesses without authorization a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided; or (2) intentionally exceeds an authorization to access that facility; and thereby obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access to a wire or electronic communication while it is in electronic storage in such system shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.”
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