11 ms·

Great idea, but aren't there some laws that prohibit recording people without consent?

by labpdx 13y ago

hammaz 13y ago
There are a few points that help: 1) This is not meant to be a spying device (given it can not remember anything more than 5 mins old anyway). 2)Instead it is meant to be kind of a "personal memory enhancer" .... so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that. Infact an excellent use of this is to fight bullying, where you can capture the bully (or black mailer etc) without their knowledge and there is nothing illegal about it because you are a part of that conversation. 3) Nothing gets written to long term memory unless the user tells the app to do so. 4) we don't let the user do anything that they cannot already do with an actively recording (Apple supplied) Voice Memo app. We just it make more convenient to capture the interesting parts of their life without having to sift through gigs of audio data every day
- dhugiaskmak 13y ago
  The rules about what you can and cannot record without consent vary by state and situation: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-co...
- vidarh 13y ago
  > so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that. Depends on your jurisdiction, at least in situations where the other party is not aware they are being recorded. In the US, 12 states forbid recording of conversation without the consent of all parties. See http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-recording-state-hidden-camera-statutes http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-re... - some may exempt situations where the party being recorded should have a reasonable expectation of being recorded, e.g. consider a public speech. Outside the US this can be an even thornier issue, with many countries having substantially stricter privacy laws.
- dionidium 13y ago
  None of your comments about the length of time the recording remains available or about duplication of existing features address the OP's question. Also, you say: " .... so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that." I think that's simplistic enough to make it simply false. This looks like a good place to start: * http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-recording-conversations.aspx http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-record...
- hammaz 13y ago
  5) There is a big toggle switch that lets the user shut ON/Off background listening ....
  - hamburglar 13y ago
    Ship it with a t-shirt that says "this conversation may be recorded for quality purposes."
- antisol 13y ago
  In terms of Australian law none of this is relevant - you're required by law to get the consent of anyone you're taking an audio recording of. So in Australia at least you'd have a really hard time running this legally.

Great idea, but aren't there some laws that prohibit recording people without consent?

by labpdx 13y ago

Great idea, but aren't there some laws that prohibit recording people without consent?

There are a few points that help: 1) This is not meant to be a spying device (given it can not remember anything more than 5 mins old anyway). 2)Instead it is meant to be kind of a "personal memory enhancer" .... so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that. Infact an excellent use of this is to fight bullying, where you can capture the bully (or black mailer etc) without their knowledge and there is nothing illegal about it because you are a part of that conversation. 3) Nothing gets written to long term memory unless the user tells the app to do so. 4) we don't let the user do anything that they cannot already do with an actively recording (Apple supplied) Voice Memo app. We just it make more convenient to capture the interesting parts of their life without having to sift through gigs of audio data every day

dhugiaskmak 13y ago
The rules about what you can and cannot record without consent vary by state and situation: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-co...
vidarh 13y ago
> so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that. Depends on your jurisdiction, at least in situations where the other party is not aware they are being recorded. In the US, 12 states forbid recording of conversation without the consent of all parties. See http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-recording-state-hidden-camera-statutes http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-re... - some may exempt situations where the party being recorded should have a reasonable expectation of being recorded, e.g. consider a public speech. Outside the US this can be an even thornier issue, with many countries having substantially stricter privacy laws.
dionidium 13y ago
None of your comments about the length of time the recording remains available or about duplication of existing features address the OP's question. Also, you say: " .... so you are basically recording conversations you are a part of and there are no laws against that." I think that's simplistic enough to make it simply false. This looks like a good place to start: * http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-recording-conversations.aspx http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-record...
hammaz 13y ago
5) There is a big toggle switch that lets the user shut ON/Off background listening ....
- hamburglar 13y ago
  Ship it with a t-shirt that says "this conversation may be recorded for quality purposes."
antisol 13y ago
In terms of Australian law none of this is relevant - you're required by law to get the consent of anyone you're taking an audio recording of. So in Australia at least you'd have a really hard time running this legally.