The United Airlines PetSafe phone line is currently under investigation by litigation firms for possible violations of call recording laws.

Although these laws vary from one state to another, they generally require that one or both parties to a telephone conversation must be notified and give consent before the call is recorded. Depending on which state you live in, business entities and individuals who fail to obtain consent can be held liable and subject to civil and criminal penalties.

Why Are They Recording Calls in the First Place?

At some point, everyone who winds up placing or receiving a telephone call from a customer service representative hears a prerecorded message such as “This call may be monitors or recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.” “Monitoring” and “recording” are actually two different things, although from a legal standpoint they are often treated the same.

The important thing to remember is that if you live in what is known as a “two-party consent” state, like California, both parties – including the recipient – must give consent before the conversation can be recorded.

The current investigation of the United Airlines PetSafe phone line primarily involves California residents, who may have had calls with that number recorded without their consent.

About California Call Recording Statutes

The state of California is one that has always taken individual privacy rights very seriously and has some of the most restrictive privacy laws in the nation. Under the state’s call recording law, if the recipient of a call remains on the line after hearing the aforementioned message advising them that that the conversation may be recorded, that constitutes consent.

Where the United Airlines PetSafe phone line allegedly ran afoul of the law was in failing to provide that notification – meaning that said calls may have been recorded without recipients’ knowledge.

Other Two-Party Consent States

Aside from California, other states with two-party consent laws are:

• Connecticut
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Pennsylvania
• Washington

The laws vary slightly from one state to another; for example, Hawaii’s two-party consent law applies only to recording equipment installed in private locations, while Illinois laws apply only to phone recordings, whereas Massachusetts bans all private recordings.

In other states, only one party need consent to being recorded – which can be the business calling you. However, even in these states, they are required to provide a notification. It should be noted that if the caller is located in a one-party consent state and the recipient in one of the two-party consent states, statutes of the latter apply.

Penalties for Violating CA Call Recording Laws

Any party who violates California invasion of privacy law can be fined up to $2,500 per violation. If there is a previous conviction, the offending party can be fined up to $10,000 per violation. In addition, they can be liable to civil parties by the aggrieved parties; plaintiffs may be entitled to damages of three times the actual amount of harm suffered or $5,000 per violation, whichever is greater.