Can I prosecute someone in California for secretly recording my conversation with them?
I had a private call and the woman is stating publicly she recorded it, though I had no knowledge of that at the time. She lives in California.
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1 Answer
Secretly recording a person is a crime in California: consent from all parties to the communication is required, and the maximum penalty is $2,500 and 1 year in prison. It does not matter whether to person has been convicted for some other crime (except that this could be a serious matter for a person out on parole). In addition, the person who is recorded can sue the person who did the recording. However, if there is a regular beep throughout the conversation (as specified in California Public Utilities Commission General Order 107-B(II)(A)(5)), you have implicitly consented (you may not know that that is the meaning of the beep, but it is). The law provides for civil action as well:
(a) Any person who has been injured by a violation of this chapter may bring an action against the person who committed the violation for the greater of the following amounts:
(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation.
(2) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff.
You (realistically, your attorney) need to show that you were damaged to recover from the defendant.
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Thank you so much, my mind is more at ease now, regards Commented Mar 3, 2019 at 21:36