VIDEO AND AUDIO SURVEILLANCE LAWS CCTV SYSTEMS VIDEO AND AUDIO SURVEILLANCE LAWS

CCTV SYSTEMS Hidden camera laws The laws of 13 states expressly prohibit the unauthorized installation or use of cameras in private places.

CCTV SYSTEMS In Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Utah, installation or use of any device for photographing, observing or overhearing events or sounds in a private place without permission of the people photographed or observed is against the law.

CCTV SYSTEMS A private place is one where a person may reasonably expect to be safe from unauthorized surveillance. Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Utah also prohibit trespassing on private property to conduct surveillance of people there

CCTV SYSTEMS In most of these states, unauthorized installation or use of hidden cameras is a felony, punishable by a 2000.00 fine and up to 2 years in prison. Several states have laws prohibiting the use of hidden cameras in only certain circumstances, such as in locker rooms or restrooms, or for the purpose of viewing a person in a state of partial or full nudity.

General Guidelines on video surveillance CCTV SYSTEMS General Guidelines on video surveillance In general, most video recordings are legal in the U.S. with or without consent. Laws do exist regarding "Invasion of Privacy" which deals with the area of expected privacy. These include areas such as bathrooms, locker rooms, changing/dressing rooms, bedrooms and other areas where a person should expect a high level of personal privacy.

Audio Recording with Surveillance Cameras CCTV SYSTEMS Audio Recording with Surveillance Cameras The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, say that the law concerning recording of conversations is not "settled" yet, because the technology is so new, there is a patchwork of federal, state, and local laws governing the manufacture, sale, transport, and use of video and audio recording devices.

CCTV SYSTEMS The patchwork is complex because the federal laws don't pre-empt the local ones. So your local jurisdiction could make a law more stringent than the federal one, or the state one. Each jurisdiction is so different.

CCTV SYSTEMS " Regardless of the state, it is almost always illegal to record a conversation to which you are not a party, do not have consent to tape, and could not naturally overhear. " This is pretty much the definition of " eavesdropping " and is according to: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

CCTV SYSTEMS 24 states do have specific hidden camera laws. Also, some states have laws REQUIRING a notice or posting that there is surveillance equipment. Once a sign is posted that surveillance is going on, you could say that people talking near the sign are " consenting " to that recording.

CCTV SYSTEMS the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, statute allows you to record phone calls and other electronically transmitted audio sources as long as one of the parties being recorded gives consent. This is known as “One party consent”. This means that, if you are one of the two parties in a phone call, you can record the call because you are giving yourself consent to be recorded.

CCTV SYSTEMS Each state has its own laws governing the recording of conversations. Most states just echo the federal law and require one party consent to record a conversation. There are currently 37 states with one party consent laws. These states are:

CCTV SYSTEMS Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

CCTV SYSTEMS All party consent means that all parties involved in any of the audio that is recorded must give consent. Currently 12 states require all parties to give consent to be recorded. These states are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. In California

CCTV SYSTEMS If a customer comes into your business, they see a conspicuous signs that say “AUDIO RECORDING IN PROGRESS” or something to that effect, then they surely cannot assume that their conversations will be private. By choosing to remain in your place of business, they are in effect giving legal consent to being recorded. This fulfills the intent of the law.

CCTV SYSTEMS Many companies include a clause in their employment handbook that states that audio recording is conducted. Employees sign a consent form as a condition of employment. In this case, no signage is required in the workplace except in areas where customers are being served or other persons that have not consented may be recorded.

CCTV SYSTEMS How about the use of nanny cams. Parents and other proponents of nanny-cams argue that the installation of a hidden camera in their own home is not an invasion of privacy. The court has agreed, in State v. Diaz, 706 A.2d 264 (1998), the leading case on this topic,

CCTV SYSTEMS the court ruled that a videotape made by a hidden camera in the residence of the parents of the child was admissible as evidence in the lawsuit against the nanny for assault and child endangerment. The court decided that since there was an absence of state action, the Constitution did not protect the nanny's privacy in someone else's house.

CCTV SYSTEMS The court also held that a videotape without sound did not violate the Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, but furthermore, that sound was admissible because the parents had consented to their child being taped. States vary on this particular issue, but most agree that a videotaping your nanny without her knowledge is perfectly legal so long as there is no sound. Audio taping without the nanny's consent is an issue upon which the states are split.

CCTV SYSTEMS Connecticut courts allow lawsuits for invasion of privacy. The right to privacy is invaded if a person unreasonably and seriously interferes with another’s interest in not having his affairs known to others or his likeness exhibited to the public.