18 Usc 1905

Page 431

TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

Based on section 1514(b) of title 7, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Agriculture (Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30, title V, § 514(b), 52 Stat.
76).
Words ‘‘upon conviction thereof’’ were omitted as
surplusage since punishment can be imposed only after
a conviction.
Minor changes were made in phraseology and translations.
AMENDMENTS
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted ‘‘fined under this
title’’ for ‘‘fined not more than $10,000’’.

§ 1906

Words ‘‘or of any department or agency thereof’’ and
words ‘‘such department or agency’’ were inserted so as
to eliminate any possible ambiguity as to scope of section. (See definition of ‘‘department’’ and ‘‘agency’’ in
section 6 of this title.)
References to the offenses as misdemeanors, contained in all of said sections, were omitted in view of
definitive section 1 of this title.
The provisions of section 216 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940
ed., relating to publication of income tax data by ‘‘any
person’’, were omitted as covered by section 55(f)(1) of
title 26, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Internal Revenue Code.
Minor changes were made in translations and phraseology.

[§ 1904. Repealed. Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII,
§ 330004(11), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2141]

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Section, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 791; Sept.
13, 1994, Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(L), 108
Stat. 2147, related to disclosure of information or speculation in securities affecting Reconstruction Finance
Corporation.

The Antitrust Civil Process Act, referred to in text,
is Pub. L. 87–664, Sept. 19, 1962, 76 Stat. 548, as amended,
which is classified generally to chapter 34 (§ 1311 et seq.)
of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note
set out under section 1311 of Title 15 and Tables.

§ 1905. Disclosure of confidential information
generally
Whoever, being an officer or employee of the
United States or of any department or agency
thereof, any person acting on behalf of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or agent of the
Department of Justice as defined in the Antitrust Civil Process Act (15 U.S.C. 1311–1314), or
being an employee of a private sector organization who is or was assigned to an agency under
chapter 37 of title 5, publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes known in any manner or to any
extent not authorized by law any information
coming to him in the course of his employment
or official duties or by reason of any examination or investigation made by, or return, report
or record made to or filed with, such department
or agency or officer or employee thereof, which
information concerns or relates to the trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus, or to the identity, confidential statistical data, amount or source of any income,
profits, losses, or expenditures of any person,
firm, partnership, corporation, or association; or
permits any income return or copy thereof or
any book containing any abstract or particulars
thereof to be seen or examined by any person except as provided by law; shall be fined under this
title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both; and shall be removed from office or employment.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 791; Pub. L. 96–349,
§ 7(b), Sept. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 1158; Pub. L. 102–550,
title XIII, § 1353, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3970; Pub.
L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(a)(8), Oct. 11, 1996, 110
Stat. 3498; Pub. L. 107–347, title II, § 209(d)(2),
Dec. 17, 2002, 116 Stat. 2930; Pub. L. 110–289, div.
A, title I, § 1161(d), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2780.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on section 176b of title 15, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Commerce and Trade; section 216 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.;
section 1335 of title 19, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Customs Duties
(R.S. § 3167; Aug. 27, 1894, ch. 349, § 24, 28 Stat. 557; Feb.
26, 1926, ch. 27, § 1115, 44 Stat. 117; June 17, 1930, ch. 497,
title III, § 335, 46 Stat. 701; Jan. 27, 1938, ch. 11, § 2, 52
Stat. 8).
Section consolidates section 176b of title 15, U.S.C.,
1940 ed., Commerce and Trade; section 216 of title 18,
U.S.C., 1940 ed., and section 1335 of title 19, U.S.C., 1940
ed., Customs Duties.

AMENDMENTS
2008—Pub. L. 110–289 substituted ‘‘Federal Housing Finance Agency’’ for ‘‘Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’’.
2002—Pub. L. 107–347 inserted ‘‘or being an employee
of a private sector organization who is or was assigned
to an agency under chapter 37 of title 5,’’ after ‘‘(15
U.S.C. 1311–1314),’’.
1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted ‘‘fined under this
title’’ for ‘‘fined not more than $1,000’’.
1992—Pub. L. 102–550 inserted ‘‘any person acting on
behalf of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight,’’ after ‘‘or agency thereof,’’.
1980—Pub. L. 96–349 provided for punishment and removal from office of an agent of the Department of Justice as defined in the Antitrust Civil Process Act for
disclosure of confidential information.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–347 effective 120 days after
Dec. 17, 2002, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 107–347, set
out as an Effective Date note under section 3601 of Title
44, Public Printing and Documents.
SHORT TITLE
This section is popularly known as the ‘‘Trade Secrets Act’’.

§ 1906. Disclosure of information from a bank examination report
Whoever, being an examiner, public or private,
or a Government Accountability Office employee with access to bank examination report
information under section 714 of title 31, discloses the names of borrowers or the collateral
for loans of any member bank of the Federal Reserve System, any bank insured by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, any branch or
agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of
the International Banking Act of 1978), or any
organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) 1 of the Federal Reserve Act, examined
by him or subject to Government Accountability Office audit under section 714 of title 31 to
other than the proper officers of such bank,
branch, agency, or organization, without first
having obtained the express permission in writing from the Comptroller of the Currency as to
a national bank or a Federal branch or Federal
1 See

References in Text note below.