The Texas Records Act provides that it is a one-party consent state. In Texas, the use of any device to record or share usage communications, whether wired, oral, or electronic, without the consent of at least one person participating in the communications is a criminal offense. This means that in Texas, you have the legal right to record a conversation if you are a contributor, or with the prior consent of one of the parties involved, subject to criminal intent. It is also legal to record electronic communications that are easily accessible to the public. Tex. Strafgesetzbuch Ann. § 16.02 (Vernon 2011). If you are involved in a conversation, you can record it. You usually don`t need to get someone else`s consent in the conversation to record. However, you should be aware that phone calls are made to states that are “bipartisan consent states.” At least 10 states have laws that require each party`s consent to make a phone call or call.
These “bipartisan consent states” include California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Section 16.02(c)(4) of the Texas Penal Code establishes an affirmative defense against wiretapping if either party intercepts or consents to the communications. This makes Texas a “one-party consent state.” For example, disclosing explicit documents depicting your ex-partner without your ex-partner`s consent is illegal. Most States allow the consent of a party for admissions; In other words, only one participant in the recorded conversation or interaction must be legal. Texas is a one-party consent state; Therefore, it is criminal to intercept or record “wired, oral, or electronic communications” unless a party involved in the conversation agrees pursuant to Section 16.02 of the Texas Penal Code. Obviously, the “one party” is the person who makes the recording. This would be affected by the recording of a conversation (telephone) involving participants in more than one state, as it would affect the laws of other states, so the consent of all participants would have to be obtained upon registration. The Texas Penal Code does not allow the recording of personal conversations if the interlocutors have a reasonable expectation of privacy, so if you are at work and you have a conversation behind closed doors in your office or in the bathroom or in a scenario where you expect privacy, registration is likely to be illegal. If you work in a public place where there are a lot of people around you and no privacy is expected, you can probably be registered by law. Under federal law, 18 USC 2511, it is illegal to record conversations that other people have if they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. You can record the conversations you are involved in. Again, Texas law generally mirrors federal law regarding the admission of other people: Texas Penal Code 16.02 allows a person involved in a conversation to record it, but generally prohibits others from recording conversations.
This is against the law, with the intention of invading another person`s privacy and without that person`s consent: Texas law allows audio and video recording of state calls if you file a motion five days before trial. Such requests shall be subject to the restrictions imposed by the presiding judge. In state trial courts, the use of a sound and video recording device is permitted with the consent of the trial judge, the parties and any witnesses. In addition, a number of local regulations apply that impose additional or different restrictions, especially for the courts. Another privacy issue is access to a computer. Most Texas courts have ruled that a computer is a cell phone in accordance with Chapter 33 of the Texas Penal Code, Computer Crime. Pursuant to Section 33.02(a) of the Texas Penal Code, a person commits a crime by accessing a computer without the effective consent of the owner, and there is a civil cause of action set forth in the Malicious Computer Access Act in Chapter 143 of the Texas Code of Practice and Civil Remedies. As a reminder, but an employee is generally not the “owner” of the computer or mobile phone used in the private or public employment sector. There are states that have “bipartisan consent laws,” for example: California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. There are many exceptions and special provisions in these laws, especially if you are recording information about a serious crime or public safety.
The law is unclear or subject to legal interpretation in Nevada and Hawaii, and Vermont does not have a consent to record conversations law. Don`t stick me to this list because the laws of each state are subject to interpretation by the Supreme Court of that state, so despite the laws of the state, the highest court may write different opinions about the law in that state. These states will give employers more rights to prohibit secret recordings at work by management or employees. Courts and administrative agencies in most states will find that obtaining secret records is an activity protected by “whistleblower” laws.