Alaska
| CITATION | Sec. 40.23.310 |
| SUMMARY | It is a misdemeanor in Alaska to use an eavesdropping device to hear or record a conversation without the consent of at least one party to the conversation, or to disclose or publish information that one knows, or should know, was illegally obtained. Alaska Stat. § 42.20.310. A person who intercepts a private conversation cannot legally divulge or publish the information without consent of at least one party. Alaska Stat. § 42.20.300. The eavesdropping statute carries a fine of up to $1,000 and/or one year in jail, though suppression of illegally obtained information in court is the only civil penalty authorized. Alaska Stat. § 42.20.330. |
| CONSENT REQUIRED | The state’s highest court has held that the eavesdropping statute was intended to prohibit only third-party interception of communications and thus does not apply to a participant in a conversation. Palmer v. Alaska, 604 P.2d 1106 (Alaska 1979). |
| PENALTIES | Violations are a Class A Misdemeanor can include a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) if the defendant is an organization. |
