Privacy in communications is the name of a Montana offense, MCA § 45-8-213, that covers several different kinds of conduct: threatening or harassing someone by electronic communication, recording a conversation with a hidden device, intercepting communications, and disclosing intimate images without consent. A first offense carries up to 6 months in county jail and a $500 fine. It has no relationship element, so it applies to anyone, but it comes up in breakups and domestic cases because so much of the conflict happens by phone. This page is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.
Threatening and Harassing Communications
Two subsections deal with messages and calls. A person commits the offense by knowingly or purposely:
- with the purpose to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or injure, communicating with a person by electronic communication and threatening to inflict injury or physical harm to the person or property of the person, or making repeated use of obscene, lewd, or profane language or repeated lewd or lascivious suggestions (MCA § 45-8-213(1)(a)); or
- using an electronic communication to attempt to extort money or any other thing of value, or to disturb by repeated communications the peace, quiet, or right of privacy of a person at the place where the communications are received (MCA § 45-8-213(1)(b)).
"Electronic communication" means any transfer 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 (MCA § 45-8-213(6)(b)). That takes in texts, phone calls, email, and app or social media messages.
Under subsection (1)(a), the purpose matters. An angry or crude message is not automatically a crime. The State must prove the purpose the statute names and either a threat of harm or the repeated language the statute describes.
Recording a Conversation Without Consent
Subsection (1)(c) makes it an offense to record, or cause 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."
The exceptions are specific. The subsection does not apply to public officials and employees recording in the performance of official duty, to persons speaking at public meetings, to certain health care emergency calls, or to "persons given warning of the transcription or recording. If one person provides the warning, either party may record" (MCA § 45-8-213(2)(a)). A separate subsection covers purposely intercepting an electronic communication (MCA § 45-8-213(3)).
This matters for anyone gathering evidence. People on both sides of a domestic case sometimes want to record the other person to prove what was said. A secret recording can create a charge of its own. The statute does not say whether such a recording can be used in court, and that question should go to a lawyer before anything is recorded. See preserving evidence for your defense.
Intimate Images
Subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) address intimate images, real or digitally fabricated, of an identifiable person. It is an offense to publish, distribute, or disclose them without the consent of the person depicted, with the purpose to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or injure, or to obtain money or other valuable consideration. It is also an offense to possess and threaten to disclose such images in order to obtain money or other valuable consideration.
The statute lists what it does not cover, including disclosures made in the public interest such as reporting unlawful conduct, and disclosures made in the course of law enforcement duties, legal proceedings, or medical treatment (MCA § 45-8-213(2)(b)).
Penalties
| Conduct | First conviction | Later convictions |
|---|---|---|
| Threatening or harassing communications, (1)(a) or (1)(b) | Up to 6 months in county jail, a fine up to $500, or both | Second: up to 1 year or $1,000, or both. Third or later: state prison up to 5 years or $10,000, or both. |
| Hidden recording of a conversation, (1)(c), or intercepting a communication, (3) | Up to 6 months in county jail, a fine up to $500, or both | The statute does not set a higher range for repeat convictions. |
| Disclosing or threatening to disclose intimate images, (1)(d) or (1)(e) | A misdemeanor: up to 6 months in county jail, a fine up to $500, or both | Second or later: a felony, up to 5 years or $25,000, or both. |
All of these come from MCA § 45-8-213(4).
How It Shows Up in Domestic Cases
This charge can stand alone, with no allegation that anyone was touched. It can also be added to a PFMA case based on messages sent before or after the incident. And it overlaps with other offenses:
- A message sent while a no contact order is in effect is a separate crime under a different statute, whatever it says. The no contact order statute uses this section's definition of electronic communication (MCA § 45-5-209(1)). See violating a no contact order.
- Two or more acts of harassment or monitoring can be charged as stalking.
- A message asking someone to change what they told police can be charged as tampering with a witness.
If Your Messages Are the Evidence
Do not delete anything. Deleting messages after you know an investigation is underway can itself be charged as a crime. Do not send more messages to explain the earlier ones. Give your lawyer the complete thread, not selected screenshots, because context on both sides can matter. Our page on texts, photos, and digital evidence explains how this material is used.
A&M Law defends these charges together with PFMA and other domestic violence charges in Western Montana.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.