3 ms·

What jurisdiction is this? Generally two-party consent laws have an explicit exemption for places where you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and

What jurisdiction is this? Generally two-party consent laws have an explicit exemption for places where you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and exemptions for recording on your own private property. There can also be different standards depending on whether you are taking the pictures for commercial use or not. I'm curious what jurisdiction has a blanket ban on audio recordings without consent, no exceptions.

happyringuser 8y ago
This is MA. Unlike nearly everywhere in the US, the state does not have the common-sense exemptions for "you should have known you were being recorded because [you were on a public street|you should have seen the sticker on my window]". See Commonwealth v. Jackson, 370 Mass. 502 (1976), saying that the MGL 272 sec 99 prohibition on "secret" recording is so broad that it is possible to "secretly" record someone even if they do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. While the law is rarely enforced, it is quite strict. Areas which have been explored recently involve whether or not it's okay to record the police, including a case of someone who argued she should have been allowed to secretly record her own arrest. Whether or not you're allowed to record strangers on the street without their consent has not been explicitly tested in this way, but I would rather not be a test case. (One local nonprofit, MassLandlords, has thought about this issue a bit and decided to recommend avoiding security cameras with always-on audio for this reason - https://masslandlords.net/beware-of-cameras-that-record-audio/ https://masslandlords.net/beware-of-cameras-that-record-audi... . The general consensus is that local law is full of untested areas which seem awfully broad; see e.g. https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/massachusetts_wiretap_law_expl.html https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/massachusett... ; but I don't want to be the one to help clarify the boundaries.)
- openasocket 8y ago
  Ah, I didn't know MA didn't have an exemption for public locations.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    I don't think IL does, either. It's why when local TV stations do undercover stories, it's always video only — no audio.

happyringuser 8y ago

This is MA. Unlike nearly everywhere in the US, the state does not have the common-sense exemptions for "you should have known you were being recorded because [you were on a public street|you should have seen the sticker on my window]". See Commonwealth v. Jackson, 370 Mass. 502 (1976), saying that the MGL 272 sec 99 prohibition on "secret" recording is so broad that it is possible to "secretly" record someone even if they do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. While the law is rarely enforced, it is quite strict. Areas which have been explored recently involve whether or not it's okay to record the police, including a case of someone who argued she should have been allowed to secretly record her own arrest. Whether or not you're allowed to record strangers on the street without their consent has not been explicitly tested in this way, but I would rather not be a test case. (One local nonprofit, MassLandlords, has thought about this issue a bit and decided to recommend avoiding security cameras with always-on audio for this reason - https://masslandlords.net/beware-of-cameras-that-record-audio/ https://masslandlords.net/beware-of-cameras-that-record-audi... . The general consensus is that local law is full of untested areas which seem awfully broad; see e.g. https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/massachusetts_wiretap_law_expl.html https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/massachusett... ; but I don't want to be the one to help clarify the boundaries.)

openasocket 8y ago
Ah, I didn't know MA didn't have an exemption for public locations.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  I don't think IL does, either. It's why when local TV stations do undercover stories, it's always video only — no audio.