
THE FEDERAL LAW AS IT PERTAINS TO AUDIO MONITORING
United States Code, Title 18, Section 2510(2) regarding rights of privacy:
“Oral communication means any “oral communication” uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstance justifying such expectation.”
Section 2511 (2)(d) goes further:
“It shall not be unlawful [under this chapter] for a person…to intercept…oral…communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception…”
A person does not have an expectation of privacy if there are public signs posted giving clear indication that the communication is being monitored. Implied consent is valued as is explicit permission.
Posting of signage, a disclaimer, on the public entrances and exits, notifying all that “Audio Monitoring on These Premises” in effect, assists entities to comply with United States Code regarding notice and rights of privacy. Louroe provides signage that we recommend be clearly posted. There are other, meaningful ways to provide awareness, such as employee handbooks, patient consent forms, and school registration, to name a few.
Each State in the U.S. has adopted statutes that are based on the Federal law. It is important for qualified distributors / resellers of audio monitoring technology that they not rely solely on the above information, and to verify the above with knowledgeable legal counsel in the location where the technology is planned to be deployed.
Federal Law References:
US Code, Title 18. Sec. 2510.