Recording a Phone Conversation After Consenting to the Other Party's Recording It
My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: California
Hello,
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I have a question regarding the recording of phone calls in California, specifically between an individual and a business/corporation. I am aware that California requires all-party consent in that the individual and the corporation must be aware the phone call may be recorded. However, in the research I have done, I seem to be getting mixed guidance as to whether or not it would be okay for the individual to record the phone call when the corporation is the only party to provide such notice that the call may be recorded. Here is an example, an individual calls a business’s customer service and just before they’re connected with a service rep the automated voice says “This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes”. At that point the individual who is calling also begins to record the conversation. At this point, is it required for the individual to also make it known to the service rep that the individual is recording the call OR is it not required in that the service rep already has reason to believe the conversation will be recorded?
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Some of the comments I have seen online say the individual still needs to make it known based on the California “all-parties” consent rule. However, given that California Penal Code Sec 632, article c, states “but excludes a communication made… in any other circumstances in which the parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.”- This would leave me to believe that given the business made it aware the call may be recorded, they should reasonably expect that the communication may be recorded, in which case, the individual would not need to disclose his/her act of recording.
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What are your thoughts on this?
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Much appreciated
Re: Phone Privacy Law-Recording Call
Nothing in Penal Code Sec. 632 suggests "Unless you have given the other party consent to record" - that is, even if you consent to somebody else recording your call, there's no statutory presumption that they consent to your making a recording.