General guidelines for Audio recording for business

Is Audio recording a good idea for your business? Off course everyone wants to know what the employees are doing or how the customers are being treated. Some business owners would like to log into their DVR mobile viewing app and not just see, but hear everything that is going on in their place of business. Having a microphone connected to your DVR is a huge plus into making your business safer and more productive. The question is, when is it legal?

Audio microphones are very useful as an add on to your hd security camera system, the problem is there are many laws that must be considered such as state and local laws, so you must plan this use of audio very carefully, here are some tips;

• If you are going to record a private conversation you can be accused of wiretapping and eavesdropping too. Some states allow for this to happen but you must have the consent from one of the parties.
• Also you must be very careful when using cameras that have built in microphones, because some areas are completely off-limits, especially in the bathrooms or the dressing rooms. We understand it`s hard to know where you can or where you can`t record audio but if there is a place where it`s definitely illegal to install security cameras with audio is in the bathrooms.
• Please be aware that most states will not allow any type of covert audio recording in public workplaces so always make sure you are in compliance with your local laws.

It`s covered in the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse that the recording of conversations is not yet “settled” because each state and local jurisdiction is different , you can find more information here: http://www.privacyexchange.org/

But some rules are set like we just covered above, and they are;

In locations where there is an expectation of privacy, which includes but not limited to; bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms, the recording of audio and covert cameras is illegal by the (4^th Amendment)

And always remember if there is no consent from a person that audio is being recorded, eavesdropping is taking place and that is illegal.

Because audio is becoming more common in business and residential security camera installations, our people at HD Cameras USA contacted a law office and they say one main common rule applies to almost all of the 50 states of the union, when it comes down to CCTV Audio recording and that is, if viewing or recording audio you must always have a signage that says “ Audio Recording” in the premises, if the person chooses to stay around that area it`s because he/she is giving you consent to record and store the audio. So remember to always place warning signs around the area.