Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 45. CRIMES · CHAPTER 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER · Part 2. Offensive, Indecent, and Inhumane Conduct
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213 (2026)

Privacy In Communications

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 45
  3. CHAPTER 8
  4. Part 2
  5. 45-8-213 Privacy in communications

TITLE 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER

Part 2. Offensive, Indecent, and Inhumane Conduct

Privacy In Communications

45-8-213. Privacy in communications. (1) Except as provided in 69-6-104, a person commits the offense of violating privacy in communications if the person knowingly or purposely:

(a) with the purpose to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or injure, communicates with a person by electronic communication and threatens to inflict injury or physical harm to the person or property of the person or makes repeated use of obscene, lewd, or profane language or repeated lewd or lascivious suggestions;

(b) uses an electronic communication to attempt to extort money or any other thing of value from a person or to disturb by repeated communications the peace, quiet, or right of privacy of a person at the place where the communications are received;

(c) records or causes to be recorded a conversation by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device that reproduces a human conversation without the knowledge of all parties to the conversation;

(d) with the purpose to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or injure or to obtain money or other valuable consideration, publishes, distributes, or discloses real or digitally fabricated printed or electronic photographs, pictures, images, or films of an identifiable person without the consent of the person depicted that show:

(i) the visible genitals, anus, buttocks, or female breast if the nipple is exposed; or

(ii) the person depicted engaged in a real or simulated sexual act; or

(e) with the purpose to obtain money or other valuable consideration from an identifiable person without the consent of the person depicted, possesses and threatens to disclose real or digitally fabricated images or videos that show:

(i) the visible genitals, anus, buttocks, or female breast if the nipple is exposed; or

(ii) the person depicted engaged in a real or simulated sexual act.

(2) (a) Subsection (1)(c) does not apply to:

(i) elected or appointed public officials or to public employees when the transcription or recording is done in the performance of official duty;

(ii) persons speaking at public meetings;

(iii) persons given warning of the transcription or recording. If one person provides the warning, either party may record.

(iv) a health care facility, as defined in 50-5-101, or a government agency that deals with health care if the recording is of a health care emergency telephone communication made to the facility or agency.

(b) Subsection (1)(d) does not apply to:

(i) images involving the voluntary exposure of a person's genitals or intimate parts in public or commercial settings;

(ii) disclosures made in the public interest, including but not limited to the reporting of unlawful conduct;

(iii) disclosures made in the course of performing duties related to law enforcement, including reporting to authorities, criminal or news reporting, legal proceedings, or medical treatment; or

(iv) disclosures concerning historic, artistic, scientific, or educational materials.

(3) Except as provided in 69-6-104, a person commits the offense of violating privacy in communications if the person purposely intercepts an electronic communication. This subsection does not apply to elected or appointed public officials or to public employees when the interception is done in the performance of official duty or to persons given warning of the interception.

(4) (a) A person convicted of the offense of violating privacy in communications shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months, or both. A person convicted under subsection (1)(d) or (1)(e) is guilty of a misdemeanor for a first offense.

(b) On a second conviction of subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b), a person shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 1 year or be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000, or both.

(c) On a third or subsequent conviction of subsection (1)(a)or (1)(b), a person shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 5 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $10,000, or both.

(d) On a second or subsequent conviction of subsection (1)(d) or (1)(e), a person is guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed 5 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $25,000, or both.

(5) Nothing in this section may be construed to impose liability on an interactive computer service for content provided by another person.

(6) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Digitally fabricated" means using technical means, such as artificial intelligence, to create media that realistically misrepresents an identifiable individual as engaging in conduct in which the identifiable individual did not engage.

(b) "Electronic communication" means any transfer between persons of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.

(c) "Interactive computer service" means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the internet and this type of service or system as operated or offered by a library or educational institution.

History: En. 94-8-114 by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 33, Ch. 359, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 94-8-114; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 356, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 177, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 354, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 77, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 344, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 435, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 214, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 56, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 243, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 686, L. 2025.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1979–2025 · leading case: State v. Dugan, 2013 MT 38, 303 P.3d 755.
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State v. Dugan, 2013 MT 38, 303 P.3d 755. · cites it 105× “Is the Privacy in Communications statute, § 45-8-213, MCA, facially overbroad in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 7 of the Montana Constitution? 3 ¶5 3.”
State v. Smith, 2004 MT 191, 95 P.3d 137. · cites it 18× “g issue is presented on appeal: ¶ 3 Did the District Court err in denying Smith's motion to dismiss Count I of the second amended Information on grounds that: (a) the prosecutor erroneously charged him with the offense of assault with a weapon, pursuant to § 45-5-213, MCA,…”
State v. Allen, 2010 MT 214, 241 P.3d 1045. · cites it 12× “Finally we added, without explanation, that such monitoring was also permissible under § 45-8-213(1)(c), MCA. Thus, we resolved the issue without addressing the protections of the Montana Constitution.”
State v. Brown, 755 P.2d 1364 (Mont. 1988). · cites it 13× “Section 45-8-213, MCA, still makes it a criminal offense to record a conversation without the permission of all participants unless an exception provided within the statute applies.”
State v. DuBray, 2003 MT 255, 77 P.3d 247. · cites it 7× “Section 45-8-213, MCA, provides, in relevant part, that a person commits the offense of violating privacy in communication if the person purposely or knowingly: *400 (c) records or causes to be recorded a conversation by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device that…”
State v. Flowers, 2004 MT 37, 86 P.3d 3. · cites it 7× “¶16 On August 17, 2001, the Respondent, State of Montana, filed an information charging Kevin with one count of burglary, in violation of § 45-6-204, MCA (1999), two counts of theft, in violation of § 45-6-301, MCA (1999), and two counts of violating privacy in communications,…”
State v. W. Lamoureux, 2021 MT 94, 485 P.3d 192. · cites it 40× “20 CONCLUSION ¶41 The Privacy in Communications statute, § 45-8-213, MCA, is not overly broad nor an improper content-based law and does not violate the Montana and United States Constitutions.”
Belanus v. Potter, 2017 MT 95, 394 P.3d 906. · cites it 6× “He claimed this was *304 a violation of his Article II, Sections 10 and 11 Montana constitutional rights and the Montana privacy in communication statute, § 45-8-213, MCA. ¶28 As noted above, the federal court analyzed Belanus’s claims under the federal and state constitutions…”
McCormick v. Brevig, 2004 MT 179, 96 P.3d 697. · cites it 4× “The District Court excluded the taped testimony on the ground that it was not clear that all persons involved in the conversation were aware that it was being tape-recorded, in violation of § 45-8-213, MCA, which pertains to privacy in communication.”
State v. Hanley, 608 P.2d 104 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 6× “Appellant contends these matters were relevant because the desired testimony would have established that Carrier could not legally serve as a deputy sheriff and, therefore, any interpretation on his part of a conversation would be a criminal act under section 45-8-213, MCA,…”
Payne v. Norwest Corp., 911 F. Supp. 1299 (D. Mont. 1995). · cites it 7× “Defendants Norwest Bank Billings and Norwest Bank Great Falls assert in their counterclaims that Payne violated both Mont.Code Ann. § 45-8-213 and the federal act entitled “Wire Interception and Interception of Oral Communications”, 18 U.”
State v. Granby, 939 P.2d 1006 (Mont. 1997). · cites it 5× “Granby appeals from the February 20, 1996 Judgment of the Fifth Judicial Court, Jefferson County, convicting him of the offenses of disorderly conduct, in violation of § 45-8-101, *195 MCA, and violating privacy in communications, in violation of § 45-8-213, MCA. We affirm in…”
Show all 36 citing cases →
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1): 5 cases
State v. Flowers, 2004 MT 37, 86 P.3d 3. “¶16 On August 17, 2001, the Respondent, State of Montana, filed an information charging Kevin with one count of burglary, in violation of § 45-6-204, MCA (1999), two counts of theft, in violation of § 45-6-301, MCA (1999), and two counts of violating privacy in communications,…”
State v. Brown, 755 P.2d 1364 (Mont. 1988). “Section 45-8-213, MCA, still makes it a criminal offense to record a conversation without the permission of all participants unless an exception provided within the statute applies.”
State v. Belgarde, 798 P.2d 539 (Mont. 1990).
Guiffrida v. Glick, 2017 MT 136N.
State v. R. Sullivan, 2023 MT 53N, 526 P.3d 1094.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1)(a): 8 cases
State v. Dugan, 2013 MT 38, 303 P.3d 755. “Is the Privacy in Communications statute, § 45-8-213, MCA, facially overbroad in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 7 of the Montana Constitution? 3 ¶5 3.”
State v. W. Lamoureux, 2021 MT 94, 485 P.3d 192. “20 CONCLUSION ¶41 The Privacy in Communications statute, § 45-8-213, MCA, is not overly broad nor an improper content-based law and does not violate the Montana and United States Constitutions.”
State v. Smith, 2004 MT 191, 95 P.3d 137. “g issue is presented on appeal: ¶ 3 Did the District Court err in denying Smith's motion to dismiss Count I of the second amended Information on grounds that: (a) the prosecutor erroneously charged him with the offense of assault with a weapon, pursuant to § 45-5-213, MCA,…”
State v. T. Lafournaise, 2022 MT 36, 504 P.3d 486.
State v. J. Brown, 2022 MT 176, 517 P.3d 177.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1)(c): 4 cases
State v. Allen, 2010 MT 214, 241 P.3d 1045. “Finally we added, without explanation, that such monitoring was also permissible under § 45-8-213(1)(c), MCA. Thus, we resolved the issue without addressing the protections of the Montana Constitution.”
Belanus v. Potter, 2017 MT 95, 394 P.3d 906. “He claimed this was *304 a violation of his Article II, Sections 10 and 11 Montana constitutional rights and the Montana privacy in communication statute, § 45-8-213, MCA. ¶28 As noted above, the federal court analyzed Belanus’s claims under the federal and state constitutions…”
State v. Hanley, 608 P.2d 104 (Mont. 1980). “Appellant contends these matters were relevant because the desired testimony would have established that Carrier could not legally serve as a deputy sheriff and, therefore, any interpretation on his part of a conversation would be a criminal act under section 45-8-213, MCA,…”
State v. Brown, 755 P.2d 1364 (Mont. 1988). “Section 45-8-213, MCA, still makes it a criminal offense to record a conversation without the permission of all participants unless an exception provided within the statute applies.”
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(4): 1 case
Guiffrida v. Glick, 2017 MT 136N.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(4)(c): 1 case
State v. L. Ernst, 2025 MT 89, 567 P.3d 944.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(l)(a): 5 cases
State v. Dugan, 2013 MT 38, 303 P.3d 755. “Is the Privacy in Communications statute, § 45-8-213, MCA, facially overbroad in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 7 of the Montana Constitution? 3 ¶5 3.”
State v. Smith, 2004 MT 191, 95 P.3d 137. “g issue is presented on appeal: ¶ 3 Did the District Court err in denying Smith's motion to dismiss Count I of the second amended Information on grounds that: (a) the prosecutor erroneously charged him with the offense of assault with a weapon, pursuant to § 45-5-213, MCA,…”
State v. Flowers, 2004 MT 37, 86 P.3d 3. “¶16 On August 17, 2001, the Respondent, State of Montana, filed an information charging Kevin with one count of burglary, in violation of § 45-6-204, MCA (1999), two counts of theft, in violation of § 45-6-301, MCA (1999), and two counts of violating privacy in communications,…”
State v. Granby, 939 P.2d 1006 (Mont. 1997). “Granby appeals from the February 20, 1996 Judgment of the Fifth Judicial Court, Jefferson County, convicting him of the offenses of disorderly conduct, in violation of § 45-8-101, *195 MCA, and violating privacy in communications, in violation of § 45-8-213, MCA. We affirm in…”
State v. Birthmark, 2013 MT 86, 300 P.3d 1140.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(l)(c): 2 cases
State v. Allen, 2010 MT 214, 241 P.3d 1045. “Finally we added, without explanation, that such monitoring was also permissible under § 45-8-213(1)(c), MCA. Thus, we resolved the issue without addressing the protections of the Montana Constitution.”
State v. Belgarde, 798 P.2d 539 (Mont. 1990).
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(l)(c)(iii): 1 case
State v. DuBray, 2003 MT 255, 77 P.3d 247. “Section 45-8-213, MCA, provides, in relevant part, that a person commits the offense of violating privacy in communication if the person purposely or knowingly: *400 (c) records or causes to be recorded a conversation by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device that…”
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(l)(e): 1 case
State v. Allen, 2010 MT 214, 241 P.3d 1045. “Finally we added, without explanation, that such monitoring was also permissible under § 45-8-213(1)(c), MCA. Thus, we resolved the issue without addressing the protections of the Montana Constitution.”
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