Findings
7 Call recording consent
California and Illinois ask every party; federal US law asks for one party's prior consent or the ordinary course of business, both as conditions; the UK asks for a listed purpose and all reasonable efforts to tell users; New South Wales and Victoria have their own surveillance devices rules; Germany makes recording the spoken word a criminal matter.
For counsel: Whose consent does the law of this location ask before a call is recorded (every party, or one), how is it obtained, and does it hold for callers in other states?
Where it comes from, location by location
- Recording consentstatutory requirementThe consent of every party before recording a confidential communication, and before recording any call involving a cellular or cordless phone. Cal. Penal Code 632(a)Cal. Penal Code 632.7(a) California Penal Code 631, named, not quoted
- Recording consentverification requiredNo surreptitious recording of a private conversation without the consent of every party; a business doing telephone sales, service or research may monitor its employees' calls for quality, training or research only with one active party's consent, with unmonitored personal lines, and with no onward use. Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(1)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(2)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(3)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-3(j)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-3(j)
- Recording consentstatutory requirementNo interception of calls or messages unless an exception applies: a party's prior consent (never for a criminal or tortious purpose), or equipment used in the ordinary course of business. Both are conditions to show, not a default. ECPA 2511(1)(a)ECPA 2511(2)(d)ECPA 2510(5)(a)
- Recording consentstatutory requirementRecording the spoken word is a criminal matter in Germany. German Criminal Code (StGB) section 201, named, not quoted
- Recording consentstatutory requirementDelaware's interception law. Delaware Code title 11, chapter 24, named, not quoted
- Recording consentstatutory requirementInterception by or with the express consent of the system controller, for a listed purpose (such as standards achieved in the course of duties), and all reasonable efforts to tell every user of the system that calls may be intercepted. UK interception regulations reg 3(1)(a)UK interception regulations reg 3(2)(c)UK interception regulations reg 4(1)(c)ICO monitoring guidance para 3.3(a)
- Recording consentstatutory requirementRecording a private conversation as a party needs every principal party's consent, or one party's where recording is reasonably necessary to protect that party's own interests; listening to a conversation you are not part of is not allowed. NSW SDA s 7(1)(a)NSW SDA s 7(1)(b) and (3)
- Recording consentstatutory requirementA listening device on a private conversation you are not part of needs every party's consent. Vic SDA s 6
- Recording consentstatutory requirementInterception of communications passing over a telecommunications system. Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth), named, not quoted
- Recording consentverification requiredOccasional listening or recording for training, evaluation or service quality, never permanent or systematic unless a law requires it; callers told at the start of the call and able to object. CNIL guidance CALL-1CNIL guidance CALL-2CNIL guidance CALL-6 official guidance, not law