Recording Calls Without Consent Illegal in California

Many customers who make a call to a company to receive customer service are unaware that their privacy rights may be violated. Some companies, including British Airways, are under scrutiny for possibly recording calls without consent, thereby violating the rights of their customers.

Both state and federal laws have limits on the method by which companies can record the phone calls they make or receive. Federal law states that at least one party be aware that the phone call is being recorded. Under federal law, if a company participates in recording calls without consent of at least one party, they have violated the law and invaded the privacy of the parties on the call.

However, California law is much stricter. The California Invasion of Privacy Act requires that no one may record a phone call unless both parties give their consent to the recording. In fact, if a company such as British Airways records a phone call without the consent of both parties, they are in violation of California state law.

This is considered a “wiretapping” law and is outlined under California Penal Code 632. It applies to all confidential communications including phone calls. In California, phone call recording law is considered “two-party consent” rather than “one-party consent” under federal law.

One may wonder if this applies to companies that do not physically operate within the state boundaries of California. These strict laws regarding recording calls without consent apply to any company that receives or makes a call from or to an individual living in California.

Specifically, if a resident of California makes a call to British Airways and the airline participates in recording calls without consent of both the caller and the British Airways customer service representative, no matter where the call center is or where the company does business, they are in violation of California privacy law.

Often, companies may record calls for training or quality assurance purposes. In many states, only the consent of one of the parties is necessary to remain within the bounds of the laws. Even though they may be recording calls without consent, the company may not be in violation of the law.

However, in states like California, that is not the case. Often, in California, when a customer calls in to a company that participates in call recording, the customer might be met with a greeting that may say, “This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.”

If a customer is met with such a greeting in California, then remains on the line, it is the same as giving consent. To deny consent to be recorded, the caller must hang up.

If a company like British Airways participates in call recording without consent, they may be liable for up to $5,000 per call or up to three times the amount of damages under California state law.

If you suspect that your phone call to British Airways or another company was recorded without your consent, you may be eligible to participate in a lawsuit.

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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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