Czech Airlines may be one of a list of many businesses that are recording without permission calls made to their customer service line from California residents.

If this is true with respect to calls coming from California citizens, the recording may be violation of the state’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Part of CIPA is California Penal Code No. 632 which seeks to protect citizens from eavesdropping via electronic means on any telephonic communication assumed to be between the caller and recipient.

What Is A One-Party Vs. Two-Party State?

One-party and two-party states are governmental designations with respect to the rules governing call recording.

In a one-party state, only one participant to the phone call needs to agree to record the conversation—this is usually the recipient of the customer service phone call. In a two-party state, all participants need to give their permission prior to electronically recording the interaction whether it be generated from a cell phone or a landline.

While call recording without permission of the caller is technically legal in one-party states, it is still rare not to at least hear the pre-recorded warning of the intent to record for training or quality control purposes when dialing into a customer service line.

In addition to California, other two-party states include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington. Other states in the U.S. are one-party, although this is frequently changing.

Because businesses need to save time in handling customer concerns, a blanket policy of offering this warning and training customer service agents to follow-up with asking permission has become more the norm. Nevertheless, some California residents are concerned that unauthorized recording may be in practice by Czech Airlines, as well as:

• Dermalogica
• Swarovski
• Drs. Foster & Smith
• Mears Transportation Group
• Romano’s Macaroni Grill
• Southwest Rapid Rewards (800-445-5764 only)
• United Airlines Pet Safe (800-575-3335 only)
• Cannondale Bicycle Corporation

While Czech Airlines is different in that it is an international business headquartered in Prague, California’s laws regulating communications may apply when the company engages in phone communications with California residents.

A Word About Implied Consent

While the legal consequences for call recording without permission can be quite high, a business can be technically covered by the use of the pre-recorded message about the intent to possibly record.

By hearing this and staying on the line, the customer has given their permission through implied consent. A caller has every opportunity to terminate the conversation by hanging up. If they don’t, they have effectively consented to the recording.

If you’re a California resident and your telephone call has been recorded without your permission, you may be entitled to $5,000 per violation or three times the amount of damages suffered.