Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 5 - CRIMINAL OFFENSES (§§ 5-1-101 — 5-79-101) › Subtitle 4 - OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY (§§ 5-36-101 — 5-42-205) › Chapter 37 - FORGERY AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES (§§ 5-37-101 — 5-37-525) › Subchapter 4 - CABLE TELEVISION (§§ 5-37-401 — 5-37-407) › Section 5-37-402 - Theft of communication services - Unlawful communication and access devices

(a)
A person commits theft of communication services if he or she knowingly and with the intent to defraud a communication service provider:
(1)
Obtains or attempts to obtain or uses a communication service without the authorization of or proper compensation paid to the communication service provider, or assists or instructs any other person in doing so with the intent to defraud the communication service provider;
(2)
Tampers with, modifies, or maintains a modification to a communication device installed or provided by the communication service provider with the intent to defraud that communication service provider;
(3)
Possesses with the intent to distribute, manufactures, develops, assembles, distributes, transfers, imports into this state, licenses, leases, sells or offers, promotes or advertises for sale, use, or distribution any communication device:
(A)
For the commission of a theft of a communication service or to receive, intercept, disrupt, transmit, retransmit, decrypt, or acquire or facilitate the receipt, interception, disruption, transmission, retransmission, decryption, or acquisition of any communication service without the express consent or express authorization of the communication service provider, as stated in a contract or otherwise; or
(B)
With the intent to conceal or to assist another to conceal from any communication service provider or from any lawful authority the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication, provided that the concealment is for the purpose of committing a violation of subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section;
(4)
Tampers or otherwise interferes with or connects to by any means, whether mechanical, electrical, acoustical, or other means, any cable, wire, or other device used for the distribution of cable television without authority from the operator of the service, modifies, alters, programs, or reprograms a communication device for a purpose described in subdivision (a)(3) of this section;
(5)
Possesses, uses, manufactures, develops, assembles, distributes, imports into this state, licenses, transfers, leases, sells, offers, promotes, or advertises for sale, use, or distribution any unlawful access device; or
(6)
Possesses, uses, prepares, distributes, sells, gives, transfers, offers, promotes, or advertises for sale, use, or distribution any:
(A)
Plans or instructions for making, assembling, or developing any unlawful access device under circumstances evidencing an intent to use or employ the communication device or unlawful access device, or to allow the communication device or unlawful access device to be used or employed for a purpose prohibited by this subchapter, or knowing or having reason to believe that the communication device or unlawful access device is intended to be so used, or that the plans or instructions are intended to be used for manufacturing or assembling the communication device or unlawful access device for a purpose prohibited by this subchapter; or
(B)
Material, including hardware, a cable, a tool, data, computer software, or other information or equipment, knowing that the purchaser or a third person intends to use the material in the manufacture, assembly, or development of a communication device for a purpose prohibited by this subchapter, or for use in the manufacture, assembly, or development of an unlawful access device.
(b)
(1)
However, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale, lease, or possession of any television device possessing the internal hardware necessary to receive a cable television signal without the use of a converter, device, or box, or of any television advertised as "cable ready".
(2)
A person that manufactures, produces, assembles, designs, sells, distributes, licenses, or develops a multipurpose device is not in violation of this section unless that person acts knowingly and with an intent to defraud a communication service provider and the multipurpose device:
(A)
Is manufactured, developed, assembled, produced, designed, distributed, sold, or licensed for the primary purpose of committing a violation of this section;
(B)
Has only a limited commercially significant purpose or use other than as an unlawful access device or for the commission of any other violation of this section; or
(C)
Is marketed by that person or another person in concert with that person with that person's knowledge for use as an unlawful access device or for the purpose of committing any other violation of this section.
(3)
Nothing in this section requires that the design of or design and selection of a part, software code, or component for a communication device provide for a response to any particular technology, device, or software, or any component or part thereof, used by the provider, owner, or licensee of any communication service or of any data, audio or video program, or transmission to protect any such communication, data, audio or video service, program, or transmission from unauthorized receipt, acquisition, interception, access, decryption, disclosure, communication, transmission, or retransmission.
(4)
This section does not apply to the following entities or persons when lawfully acting in the capacity listed in this subdivision (b)(4) and as expressly authorized to do so by any other state or federal statute or regulation:
(A)
State or local law enforcement agency;
(B)
State or local government authority, municipality, or agency; and
(C)
Communication service provider.
(c)
(1)
A person who violates subdivision (a)(1) or subdivision (a)(2) of this section upon conviction is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
(2)
A person who violates one (1) or more of subdivisions (a)(3)-(6) of this section upon conviction is guilty of a Class D felony.
(3)
An offense under this section is a Class C felony if:
(A)
The defendant has been convicted previously on two (2) or more occasions for an offense under this subchapter or for any similar crime in this state or any federal or other state jurisdiction; or
(B)
The violation of this subchapter involves possession of more than fifty (50) communication devices or unlawful access devices.
(d)
The penalty for an offense under this section when based upon a prior conviction includes without limitation a felony offense involving theft of service or fraud under this subchapter or a violation of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-549, as in effect on March 1, 2003.
(e)
The court shall sentence a person convicted of violating this subchapter to make restitution as authorized by law, in addition to any other sentence authorized by law.
(f)
Upon conviction of a defendant under this section, the court may direct that the defendant forfeit any communication device or unlawful access device in the defendant's possession or control that was involved in the violation for which the defendant was convicted, in addition to any other sentence authorized by law.
Amended by Act 2015, No. 1263,§ 12, eff. 7/22/2015.
Acts 1985, No. 781, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2211; Acts 1997, No. 348, § 1; 2003, No. 1806, § 2.