california wiretapping
Can someone in California record a phone call without consent?
<p>Can I prosecute someone in California for secretly recording my conversation with them? </p>

<p>I had a private call and the woman is stating publicly she recorded it, though I had no knowledge of that at the time.  She lives in California.</p>

<p>Secretly recording a person is a <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&amp;sectionNum=632" rel="nofollow noreferrer">crime in California</a>: consent from all parties to the communication is required, and the maximum penalty is $2,500 and 1 year in prison. It does not matter whether to person has been convicted for some other crime (except that this could be a serious matter for a person out on parole). In addition, the person who is recorded can sue the person who did the recording. However, if there is a regular beep throughout the conversation (as specified in <a href="http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/Graphics/567.PDF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">California Public Utilities Commission General Order 107-B(II)(A)(5)</a>), you have implicitly consented (you may not know that that is the meaning of the beep, but it is). The law provides for <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&amp;sectionNum=637.2." rel="nofollow noreferrer">civil action</a> as well:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(a) Any person who has been injured by a violation of this chapter may
  bring an action against the person who committed the violation for the
  greater of the following amounts:</p>
  
  <p>(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation.</p>
  
  <p>(2) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the
  plaintiff.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You (realistically, your attorney) need to show that you were damaged to recover from the defendant.</p>
