Don’t Bug Me!
Apr 16th, 2007 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Criminal & TrafficPennsylvania’s Wiretap Act forbids the interception or recording of telephone and other communications without the permission of all participants to the conversation. Because federal law and most states permit “one party consent” – the consent of the recorder only – some Pennsylvanians assume that they can use their answering machines or other devices surreptitiously to record telephone conversations. Most of the states surrounding Pennsylvania are “one party consent” states.
In Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio, you can record a telephone conversation without telling the other party. And since many Pennsylvania electronics stores openly sell fairly sophisticated recording devices, it is easy to assume that their use is legal. But the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act clearly forbids any such recording or interception without the permission of all parties to the conversation and subjects you to criminal penalties for violations.
When people leave a message on your answering machine, they are consenting to that recording, knowing that they are leaving a recorded message. Such is not the case when you use an interception device on a telephone or simply activate your answering machine to record a conversation without telling the caller. Setting up a voice-activated cassette recorder or wearing a hidden recorder also violates the Act. If all parties consent to a recording, no crime occurs. But without the consent of everyone to the conversation, recording a conversation is always a crime in Pennsylvania.
