Call Recording Laws
The information herein is to provide you with guidelines about some things you'll need to consider when it comes to recording and transcribing calls; however, it is important to seek legal advice to ensure your company is compliant with federal, state and local laws pertaining to your particular location.
Disclaimer: this information does not constitute legal advice for your organization in complying with call recording laws. It is to provide information to help you better understand call recording laws and how it can apply to your organization. It is important that you consult an attorney to ensure you apply the law to your specific circumstances.
From a legal and compliance standpoint, it is important to understand your obligations when recording and transcribing your calls. Call recording laws differ across jurisdictions.
United States (U.S.)
In the United States, individual states approach call recording laws in two distinct ways;
- ‘One Party Consent’ state, where you must notify and get consent from at least one of the parties on the call.
- ‘Two Party Consent’ or ‘All Party’ states, which prohibits recording of a call without the consent of all parties to the communication before recording the conversation. If a party does not want to be recorded after being notified, it is up to the party to leave the call.
However, because TotalCX cannot be certain where your contact is actually located when you call them, it’s good practice to get consent where there’s any uncertainty or to consider making it a policy to always ask for consent.
In the majority of U.S. states, you'll only need consent from one of the persons participating in a call in order to record it. The party making the call can provide consent. However, approximately 13 states have chosen to require all parties' consent in order to record the call and transcribe the call. These states are currently California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington State.
For more general information on the subject, refer to the Digital Media Law Project's article on the basics of state recording laws.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The CCPA requires that businesses inform customers of their right to request disclosure of all personal information that the business has collected about them during the last 12 months. Call recordings that include personal information are subject to this requirement.
In addition, the CCPA allows customers to request that a business delete personal information about them that has been collected during the last 12 months. This includes call recordings.
Canada
Canada has established a single set of rules for call recording, built into its electronic privacy law (PIPEDA).
Joining some of the states mentioned above, Canada has adopted an "all-parties' consent" approach: to record a call, you need to obtain informed consent by notifying others on the call (1) that you intend to record the conversation, (2) any purposes the recording will be used for, and (3) that the call may only be recorded with each person's consent.
Information about Canada's approach to call recording can be accessed here Privacy Commissioner's Guidelines for Recording Customer Calls.
International Call Recording
International call recording laws refer to the legal regulations that govern when and how telephone conversations can be recorded across different countries. These laws can vary considerably depending on the country and the type of call being recorded.
For example, in some countries, both parties on a call must provide consent for the conversation to be recorded, while in others, only one party needs to give consent. Additionally, some countries have stricter laws around actively recording calls, while others have more relaxed guidelines.
It's always important to consult with legal experts to ensure that laws are being followed appropriately, as they can vary between countries and regions.
Other privacy considerations
Employee monitoring
Another aspect to consider when recording and transcribing calls is employee privacy. Other users in the portal (i.e., your employees or coworkers) will also be recorded, so you may need to consider notifying other users in your TotalCX account that their calls will be monitored internally. We suggest making your call recording policy part of your employee manual and for a written acknowledgement of receipt and training of the policies be kept with the appropriate HR documents.
Call recording at implementation
During the TotalCX implementation process, we provide suggestions for the configuration of call recording settings that align with the regulations of the particular state in which a store is located. These suggestions may incorporate an automated announcement when incoming calls are received, notifying all parties that the call is being recorded. Other available options include and are contingent upon state laws such as recording solely the agent or abstaining from call recording entirely.
Disclaimer: this information does not constitute legal advice for your organization in complying with call recording laws. It is to provide information to help you better understand call recording laws and how it can apply to your organization. It is important that you consult an attorney to ensure you apply the law to your specific circumstances.