Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: recording a conversation

no, except in particular circumstances regarding crimes.

Re: recording a conversation

No, except under very unusual circumstances. I can think of some situations beyond those Mr. Selik describes where making such a recording would be legal, but they won't come up very often.

Re: recording a conversation

This is covered by the Penal Code, section 632, and I suggest reading it in its entirety (several paragraphs of fine print) if the subject is important to you. I can summarize by saying you cannot record a confidential conversation, on the phone or in person. A confidential conversation is usually defined by the courts as one where a party has a "reasonable expectation of privacy" and that expectation is violated by the recording. In most telephone conversations, all parties on the line (who know about the others) have such an expectation UNLESS they have been given a warning, such as "this call may be monitored or recorded for training purposes" or the like, which is something we often hear when calling a big business. Such a warnning message takes away the expectation of privacy, and thereafter the conversation can be recorded without violating PC 632.

So, the short answer is that it isn't the knowledge of the other party that the conversation IS being recorded that is important. It is the knowledge that it MIGHT be recorded that makes the difference between legal and illegal recording.

Re: recording a conversation

It is a crime by a private party.