Hidden Cameras and Privacy Rights

As Mitt Romney and his staff work tirelessly to rebut the innuendo surrounding his now- infamous comments about the 47% Americans who are government “dependent,” a legal issue lurks beneath the surface: Is it legal to secretly videotape a person without his knowledge or consent?

In the majority of states—38 to be exact—the consent of only one party to a conversation is required in order to secretly record that conversation. In other words, a conversation between two or more parties may legally be recorded even if only one of the participants knows and has consented to the taping. In the other 12 states, every party must know about and consent to the recording, otherwise any publication of the recording will violate the privacy rights of the non- consenting individual(s).

The secret recording of Governor Romney’s speech was made while he was stumping in Florida, a state where it is illegal to record a conversation without the consent of all parties. So was it illegal to secretly record and then publish the speech? The answer comes down to “expectations.” A private individual in a similar situation would have had a reasonable expectation of privacy such that any recording published without his consent would be considered an actionable breach of privacy. However, a Presidential candidate speaking on a matter of public concern to a group of constituents does not have a reasonable expectation of
privacy in such a situation.

But here in Connecticut recording things such as a telephone call is only permitted if everyone recorded consents – beware and be careful.