n.

1. A concealed listening or recording device connected to a communications circuit.
2. The act of installing such a device.

v., -tapped, -tap·ping, -taps.

v.tr.

1. To connect a concealed listening or recording device to.
2. To monitor (a telephone line) by means of such a device.

v.intr.

To install a concealed listening or recording device or use it to monitor communications.

wiretapper wire'tap'per n.

A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone conversations and data communications. See ECPA.

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verb

To monitor (telephone calls) with a concealed listening device connected to the circuit: bug, tap². See investigate.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A form of electronic eavesdropping accomplished by seizing or overhearing communications by means of a concealed recording or listening device connected to the transmission line.

The introduction of the telegraph and the telephone in the nineteenth century made electronic eavesdropping possible and raised fundamental issues concerning personal privacy. Wiretapping is a particular form of electronic surveillance that monitors telephonic and telegraphic communication. Since the late 1960s, law enforcement officials have been required to obtain a search warrant before placing a wiretap on a criminal suspect.

Police departments began tapping phone lines in the 1890s. The placing of a wiretap is relatively easy. A suspect's telephone line is identified at the phone company's switching station and a line, or "tap," is run off the line to a listening device. The telephone conversations may also be recorded.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the 1928 case of Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 48 S. Ct. 564, 72 L. Ed. 944, held that the tapping of a telephone line did not violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unlawful searches and seizures, so long as the police had not trespassed on the property of the person whose line was tapped. Justice Louis D. Brandeis argued in a dissenting opinion that the Court had employed an outdated mechanical and spatial approach to the Fourth Amendment and failed to consider the interests in privacy that the amendment was designed to protect.

For almost forty years the Supreme Court maintained that wiretapping was permissible in the absence of a trespass. When police did trespass in federal investigations, the evidence was excluded in federal court. Under the Federal Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.A. 151 et seq.), private citizens are prohibited from intercepting any communication and divulging its contents.

The Supreme Court reversed course in 1967, with its decision in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2d 576. The Court abandoned the Olmstead approach of territorial trespass and adopted one based on the reasonable expectation of privacy of the victim of the wiretapping. Where an individual has an expectation of privacy, the government is required to obtain a warrant for wiretapping.

Congress responded by enacting provisions in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C.A. § 2510 et seq.) that established procedures for wiretapping. All wiretaps were banned except those approved by a court. Wiretaps were legally permissible for a designated list of offenses, if a court approved. A wiretap may last a maximum of thirty days and notice must be provided to the subject of the search within ninety days of any application or a successful interception.

In 1986 Congress extended wiretapping protection to electronic mail in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), (8 U.S.C.A. § 2701 et seq.). The law, also known as the "Wiretap Act," makes it illegal to read private E-mail.

See: E-mail; Olmstead v. United States; Pen Register; Search and Seizure; Telecommunications.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - telefonaflytning
v. tr. - aflytte
v. intr. - aflyttet

Nederlands (Dutch)
telefoon afluisteren, aansluiting om telefoon af te luisteren

Français (French)
n. - mise sur écoute, micro
v. tr. - mettre sur écoute
v. intr. - installer des micros, entrer en écoute

Deutsch (German)
n. - Mithöreinrichtung
v. - Telefondrähte anzapfen, Telefon abhören

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παγίδευση τηλεφώνου
v. - παγιδεύω (τηλέφωνο)

Italiano (Italian)
intercettazione telefonica, fare intercettazioni telefoniche

Português (Portuguese)
n. - o uso de um aparelho para ouvir telefonemas em segredo (m)
v. - usar um aparelho para ouvir telefonemas em segredo

Русский (Russian)
перехват телефонных сообщений, прослушивание телефонных разговоров

Español (Spanish)
n. - escucha telefónica, conectador para la interceptación de líneas telefónicas, interceptación de líneas telefónicas
v. tr. - interceptar la línea telefónica de
v. intr. - interceptar las líneas telefónicas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - avlyssning
v. - avlyssna

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
窃听或偷录, 窃听装置, 窃听情报, 在...上搭线窃听, 搭线窃听...的电话, 搭线窃听

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 竊聽或偷錄, 竊聽裝置, 竊聽情報
v. tr. - 在...上搭線竊聽, 搭線竊聽...的電話
v. intr. - 搭線竊聽

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 도청 (장치)
v. tr. - 도청하다, 도청기를 장치하다
v. intr. - 도청하다, 도청기를 장치하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 盗聴, 盗聴器
v. - 盗聴する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) التنصت لمكالمات تلفون الاخرين (فعل) يتنصت لمكالمه فلان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ציתות (לטלפון או לטלגרף חוטי)‬
v. tr. - ‮רכש מידע מציתות לטלפון או לטלגרף חוטי‬
v. intr. - ‮צותת (לטלפון או לטלגרף חוטי)‬

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