Stored Communications Act, public providers may not divulge contents or records (18 U.S.C. 2702(a)(1), (a)(3))
The bar on divulging stored contents applies only to services provided "to the public"; a company's own internal email or chat system is generally not a public provider, so 2702 does not itself stop the company licensing its staff's messages. It does bind the hosting vendor (a public provider), which is why the company exports as the customer rather than asking the vendor to hand data over. Paragraph (a)(3) only restricts disclosing non-content records to a governmental entity.
Dated 17 Oct 2026Source checked 17 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
In the source's own words
“(a) Prohibitions. ... Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) ... (1) a person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the contents of a communication while in electronic storage by that service; and ... (3) a provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public shall not knowingly divulge a record or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service (not including the contents of communications covered by paragraph (1) or (2)) to any governmental entity.”
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