Your security cam might be committing a felony
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, Kim Commando here. Well, first up, we have your digital life hack. And after that, I'm going to play a call from my weekend national radio show. Your security camera might be breaking the law right now. And it's not the video. It's the audio. I'm Kim Commando for Consumer Cellular. If you're over 50, get two lines for only $30 each.
How can recording audio with security cameras lead to legal issues?
Switch now and your second month is free at ConsumerCellular.com slash Kim. Recording video on your own property? Totally legal. But recording audio of someone without their consent? That's a felony in 11 to 15 states. That number fluctuating based on court interpretations that are all party consent states. We're talking California, Florida, Illinois, Washington, and more. So if your neighbor's talking on the phone on speaker and your ring doorbell recorded both sides of that conversation, congrats, that's a wiretapping violation. The fix takes 10 seconds. Open your camera's app, go to settings, turn off audio recording, or slap up a sign that says audio and video recording in progress. That counts as consent in most places.
Enter to win a $250 Amazon gift card right now at winfromkim.com. Next up, a call for my weekend show, The Kim Commando Show. Enjoy. All right, Andrew, let's start with Tom in Chico, California. Hey, Tom. Hi, Kim. Welcome. Pleasure to talk with you.
What states have strict laws regarding audio recording without consent?
Thank you. Thank you, sir. So what's going on in Chico?
I've got a problem that I'm hoping you can help me out with. And it's a tough one. I own a building in Chico, a commercial building, that is home for about 19 businesses. It fronts on Main Street in Chico. And at night, there's a little indentation in the building that's actually private property. And we have a problem with panhandlers congregating in that area. They like to sit there because it's very well lighted. And they ask people going back and forth, the restaurant and the bar crowd in the evenings and at night for money, of course. And normally I wouldn't be concerned about that, except they leave a mess when they're there. And we've had to deal with a considerable amount of vandalism and broken windows over time.
I've owned the building since 2002. So I have a camera where I can see that they're there, but I live eight miles away. So to deal with it, I have to get in my car and run down there. What I'd like to do is I would like to put up one or more speakers in that area, have it connected to the... internet through the Wi-Fi in the building and be able to talk through those speakers from my home office or on my phone to tell them they're on private property and they need to move on. The other thing I'd like to be able to do is I'd like to be able to stream some, let's say, annoying music that would make it less hospitable to sit there for a long time. Something like the Brady Bunch theme Over and over. Here's a story of a man named Brady.
What quick fixes can you implement to avoid legal violations with security cameras?
Yeah. A friend suggested Yoko Ono music. That might do it too.
Or what about that Lamb Chop song? This is the song that doesn't end because it goes on and on, my friend.
Any of them are bad. Well, all right. You know, we had a problem with this, not in this building, but the last building I own, Tom? And we ended up having to put a, I don't know what your situation is, but we had to put a door. We actually like pretended like that was a closet. So to get rid of that space. And on the door itself, my husband went and bought a sign that said radioactive human waste. And they left, they never came back. Okay, let's talk about the camera. Most security cameras now today will let you have a two-way audio. And so that's, you might just need to upgrade that in order to, because you just open the app and then you can talk and you can listen and everything like that.
So you could say- I actually have that in the camera that I have. The problem is it's not loud enough.
Oh, okay.
So then- Of course, I could upgrade it.
Yeah, you might need to do that. As far as around playing the music or repeated, you might get in trouble with the city with that. Because... They might say, like, that's harassing or, you know, California has weird laws.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:19
2
How can recording audio with security cameras lead to legal issues?
0:19–1:21
3
What states have strict laws regarding audio recording without consent?
1:21–3:14
4
What quick fixes can you implement to avoid legal violations with security cameras?
3:14–4:56
5
How can technology help manage panhandling issues on private property?
4:56–7:08