California High Court Weighs If Phone Call Parties Can Record (1)

The California Supreme Court questioned whether a state privacy law prohibits phone call participants from recording a conversation without consent or only third-party eavesdroppers.

The court heard oral argument Tuesday in a case involving appellant Jeremiah Smith, who had alleged personal and small business loan provider LoanMe Inc. recorded him on the other line without his consent in violation of the privacy law known as Section 632.7.

Justice Goodwin H. Liu appeared skeptical of the argument that the statute’s language pertained only to eavesdroppers.

“This isn’t just an eavesdropping statute in the sense that the fact of intercepting or receiving ...