The legality of playing phone messages in public
September 10, 2010 7:12 AM Subscribe
Distribution/broadcast of recorded phone messages (in Canada) where the calling-in party is unaware they are being recorded: legal?
Without divulging too many of the details of an art project being worked on, I'm wondering if it's legal to rebroadcast phone messages left on a machine without the express consent of the person calling in, assuming that the identity of the caller is not apparent (not stated, or if stated, electronically masked).
These would not be conversations, but messages left on a machine; I'm not sure how that would affect "one-party consent" as the "party" consenting would be passive in the process.
If I were, for instance, to start a blog of all the messages people leave on my (Canadian) answering machine, would that be legal? Even if I make no mention on my outgoing message that the messages left might be replayed for others?
And would it still be legal if people were calling from outside Canada?
Without divulging too many of the details of an art project being worked on, I'm wondering if it's legal to rebroadcast phone messages left on a machine without the express consent of the person calling in, assuming that the identity of the caller is not apparent (not stated, or if stated, electronically masked).
These would not be conversations, but messages left on a machine; I'm not sure how that would affect "one-party consent" as the "party" consenting would be passive in the process.
If I were, for instance, to start a blog of all the messages people leave on my (Canadian) answering machine, would that be legal? Even if I make no mention on my outgoing message that the messages left might be replayed for others?
And would it still be legal if people were calling from outside Canada?
I saw an art installation in, I believe, the National Gallery in Ottawa, that consisted of a year's worth of the artists answering machine messages being played in a loop. I can't say whether that was legal or just flew sufficiently under the radar that no one who was on the tapes cared enough to sue. But it's an anecdotal point in your favor, at least.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:40 AM on September 10, 2010
posted by jacquilynne at 9:40 AM on September 10, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
That said, you know a message is a recording, right? Does anyone leaving a message not know this? They're consenting to being recorded by talking to a recording device. So consent to be recorded is a non-issue here. I don't know about who would own copyright, though, and how that would affect broadcast. It's analagous to publishing a letter somoene sends you, though. Is that legal?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:16 AM on September 10, 2010