Legal-Ease: Recording conversations without permission

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

Personal security is a hot button issue in today’s always-online, constantly-monitored society. One area people should be aware of is the recording of conversations.

In general, the federal and Ohio law says that any person who is part of a conversation can record it. Public conversations can also be recorded by those not in the conversation.

One concern people have is if businesses are recording calls. Legally, the same rules apply. However, many businesses disclose when they are recording a call because the laws outside Ohio can differ.

There are a few situations in which conversations can’t be recorded. A judge can order for no recordings to be used in a court room; many public government meetings cannot be recorded; and any conversation in which there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

People often ask me what can and cannot be recorded without permission of the people being recorded.

For example, can you record someone else’s conversation without that person’s permission? Must you be a part of a conversation if you want to record that conversation? If a business calls you, can that business record the conversation, even if the business did not recite at the beginning of the call that the call might be recorded?

Read Lee’s full article on recording and privacy in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Recording conversations without permission

Source: LimaOhio.com, Legal-Ease: Recording conversations without permission by Lee R. Schroeder, September 13, 2014

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