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Conference Calling Companies : Using Phone Recorders Legally

Sunday, August 3, 2008
Conference Calling Companies

Phone recorders are used for a variety of reasons. Big businesses use them to keep track of phone calls coming in and out of the office. Some employers use these as customer service monitors and other companies use them to keep track of client issues (credit companies are notorious for recording you when you call in). Sometimes phone recorders are used by journalists to record source interviews so that they have a record of the conversation in the event that a quote gets challenged. Some people use phone recorders in their homes just because they want to.

Phone recorders come in all shapes, sizes, and recording qualities. There are cassette tape recorders that are perfect for home phones and sometimes for journalists. There are PC-integrated phone recorders that are used by law enforcement, journalists and small businesses. These phone recorders give users the option of creating searchable databases of the phone calls coming in or going out of that phone line. There are also multi-line phone recorders that have the ability to record multiple phone conversations simultaneously. These are used in big businesses like credit companies and utility companies. There are also self contained phone recorders. These are portable recorders often feature extras like caller ID, and transcription capabilities.

If you are in a position of needing or wanting to record your phone calls, it is important that you are aware of the legal issues involved. Here is a breakdown of the law when it comes to recorded phone conversations:

One Party Consent refers to, obviously, one member of the phone conversation knowing that the conversation is being recorded. This type of consent is allowed in Washington DC as well as in thirty seven of the fifty states. This law states that you are legally allowed to record conversations without informing the other people involved in the conversation. This only works if it is with you that their conversation is happening. It also means (and this law is the same no matter what state you live in) that you are only legally able to record phone conversations that you are a part of. It is also vital that you get permission to record the call.

All Party Consent means that you need to notify all parties involved in the conversation that the phone call will be recorded. Notification can be verbal or be done by a beep that is loud enough for everyone involved in the conversation to hear. Twelve of the fifty states in the US require All Party Consent in legal cases. If you are calling across state lines make sure that you follow the laws in both states!

Jake Uler has published in telecommunications journals for over 10 years. Get more information regarding phone.

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