Laws for Recording Phone Calls Are Stricter in California

The laws for recording phone calls in the state of California are very stringent. California is a “two-party” consent state, which means that both the caller and recipient of the call must give permission prior to having a phone call recorded.

These laws for recording phone callsin California are frequently referred to as “wiretapping” laws and, while this state is not the only one to have them, infractions are more frequently brought to court and penalized.

The “two-party” consent laws for recording phone calls apply in 11 other states as well, including Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. They apply to both inbound and outbound telephone calls.

Under California laws for recording phone calls, consent to record may be implied when a consumer calls a business customer service line and hears a pre-recorded caveat such as, “This phone call may be recorded for quality control purposes”.

If a caller chooses to stay on the line after hearing this pre-recorded message, he or she is giving what the law would refer to as “implied consent”.

Thereafter, it would not matter if the live customer service agent followed through with a similar message upon picking up the incoming call or not. The recording of the interaction would be considered valid and not in violation of privacy laws for recording phone calls.

Alleged Infractions by Businesses of California Laws for Recording Phone Calls

There are several businesses currently under possible investigation for possibly failing to provide this pre-recorded or live caveat regarding the intent to record the conversation—whether this is for quality control purposes or not.

Among those businesses is American Airlines telephone numbers for lost baggage, canceled flights, or emergencies. In addition to American Airlines telephone numbers, there are other airlines suspected of violating these laws as well, like British Airways, Czech Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. Other non-flight related businesses are:

• AMF Bowling
• Fisher & Paykel
• Miele
• Pei Wei Asian Diner
• TGI Friday’s
• 99 Cents Only Stores

Any businesses that violate this California state statute could face some hefty penalties. Damages for infractions may run $5,000 per incident which, for a large corporation, can really add up to substantial cost when litigated as part of a class action lawsuit.

An even greater deterrent for failing to get needed telephone recording consent is when a plaintiff can prove actual damages. In this case, the statute allows for an award of up to three times that of the damage.

The state of California has a significant history of passing laws that protect the privacy rights of its citizens. Perhaps for this reason, its populace is generally more educated on those rights and, when they are violated, take legal action.

If you have not been given warning by one of the mentioned businesses or any others prior to being recorded, you may qualify to participate in this California call recording class action investigation.

Join a FREE California Call Recording Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you live in California and you did not receive a warning when calling a toll-free number, your call may have been recorded in violation of California law, and you may be entitled to compensation. See if you qualify to file a California call recording class action lawsuit.

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