Recording Telephone Calls Without Consent Illegal in Calif.

Sometimes, customer service calls made to or from a company are recorded for the purpose of training employees. However, recording telephone calls in the state of California is governed by strict laws, and companies who violate these may be subject to steep consequences.

Some customers have wondered if, after calling into or being called by TGI Fridays, their calls have been recorded without their knowledge or consent. If TGI Fridays has engaged in recording telephone calls without getting the consent of the person being recorded, they may be in violation of California privacy laws.

California privacy laws about recording telephone calls are even stricter than federal privacy laws. Federal laws about recording telephone calls require that at least one party on the phone call be aware and give consent to the recording. Federal law does not require that both parties give consent.

However, the California Invasion of Privacy Act states that both parties on a phone call must be aware and give consent before a call can be recorded. Customers of companies like TGI Fridays are worried that they may have been subject to their phone calls being recorded without their knowledge.

Many companies participate in recording telephone calls for training or quality assurance. When a customer calls into a company for customer service related issues, they may hear a recording that may say something like, “This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes…” If a caller remains on the line, this implies consent.

California penal code 632 states that it is a crime to eavesdrop or record any confidential communication, including a phone call or a private conversation, if all parties are not aware of the recording.

The law itself defines the confidential communication as “any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public gathering…or in any other circumstance in which parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.”

However, some companies have been accused of recording telephone calls without informing customers that their calls could be recorded.

This law may apply even if the company is not located or headquartered in California but the caller may be. If a caller resides in California and the company is elsewhere, strict California privacy laws apply to recording telephone calls.

If a company like TGI Fridays violates this California law by recording telephone calls without the consent of all parties, they may be subject to damages in the amount of $5,000 per offense or up to three times the amount of damages suffered by the customer or offended party.

If you are a California resident and you suspect your phone call to TGI Fridays or another company was recorded without your consent or knowledge, you may benefit from speaking to an experienced attorney.