Consent of Party

To give permission. For example, whether telephone conversations based on the consent of party may be legally recorded varies in the United States by state. When the caller and the called party are in the same state, then only that one state’s laws apply. The difficulty arises when interstate telephone calls are made; then, federal laws, the laws of the calling party’s state, and the laws of the called party’s state all come into play. To make matters even more complex, each law must be obeyed. The federal statute relating to the interception and disclosure of wire communications are fully described in 18 U.S.C. § 2511. State laws for legally taping conversations are generally categorized as having one-party consent (such as those found in Alabama, Arkansas, and North Carolina) or two-party consent (such as those found in California, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania).

See Also: Jurisdiction.