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Is this legal or not?

rabbiporkchop

Sr. Member
Jan 18, 2007
1,830
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pennsylvania
There seems to be a difference of opinion on this subject. I was passing through a town in my work truck and I recorded the sounds coming out of the speaker of my company issued Cobra 29 in my work truck and posted that recording on YouTube and the person who was speaking at the time contacted me and informed me that I did not have his permission to make that recording or post the recording on YouTube. It sounds perfectly logical that I should be allowed to record The Sounds inside my work truck without being threatened by the person who forced me to listen to those sounds.
 

Im not a lawyer but play one on TV. He transmitted on public airway. It's not like you bugged his phone.

If you planted a CB in his bedroom without his knowledge then went back to your truck to record the sounds he makes with the wife you're probably in the wrong.
 
Speaking of legalities,... are you using a CB for business?
Our company has Cobra 29's installed in all the trucks and I don't even talk on it I simply use it for listening to traffic reports. When I turned the radio on and I heard that terrible sounding audio coming through my speaker I couldn't help but record it out of amusement since the guy seems so proud of his "High Fidelity" audio.

It's an awful recording but I think it gets the point across quite well that the Heil PR781 with mixer isn't for an inexperienced user.
 
Speaking of legalities,... are you using a CB for business?
The Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service is a private, two-way, short-distance voice communications service for personal or business activities of the general public. It also may be used for voice paging. It is authorized 40 channels between 26.965 MHz and 27.405 MHz.
Source:
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/citizens-band-cb-service

I don't know what that means but it's convenient for professional truckers to obtain roadway info over the CB. :)
 
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Recording audio without consent or knowledge of is illegal especially if being used against you in a court of law. It takes a court issued warrant with probable cause to tap phones or bug.

Ever notice many businesses you call will have a recorded message alerting you this call maybe recorded for quality or training purposes? That's because they legally have to. If you continue the call, you just gave consent. Unfortunately you don't have much choice except find a direct number if possible.

If anyplace you work at records audio with their security cameras, you can sue them if it was done without your knowledge of. Too bad the same doesn't apply to video unless it's in bathrooms or locker rooms, etc.

As for watergating then posting it on Youtube, if someone had an issue with it, they could have grounds to prosecute. Although most are proud to have themselves posted on Youtube.

This case here the guy is upset about being recorded, I would just delete the file.
 
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Some kinds of radio communication are covered by a "third party" rule. It's okay for you to listen, but not to divulge it to a third party.

CB and ham radio are NOT covered by this rule. Anything you hear over ham or CB frequencies is fair game to record and the play back to anyone you like.

Cell phone conversations are a different story. They passed a law in 1984 that bans listening to cell-phone conversations, let alone divulging what you hear.

But that was in the day of analog. The sheer difficulty of decoding digital cell-phone audio pretty well keeps you from doing this anyway.

And anyone can take you to court for spitting on the sidewalk, whether local law prohibits it or not.

73
 
If you live in a 2 party state, there could be some legal issues. They would most likely be dropped pretty quickly because there is no way he actually thought it was a private conversation. If you live in a 1 party state, any charges would be dropped immediately.
 
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You guys make good points but when you publically post someone's audio without their consent, you COULD (keyword ) be setting yourself up for legal issues if they wanted to pursue it. The source shouldn't or might not matter.

Of course, both parties will have their day in court.
 
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The whole point of making the recording was to warn other people not to waste money and run out and purchase a studio microphone and a mixer and plug it into a CB radio and expect to sound like Howard Stern or motormouth Maul on a commercial broadcast station. I hate to see people waste their money only to find out the stock microphone sounded a thousand times better.
 
The whole point of making the recording was to warn other people not to waste money and run out and purchase a studio microphone and a mixer and plug it into a CB radio and expect to sound like Howard Stern or motormouth Maul on a commercial broadcast station. I hate to see people waste their money only to find out the stock microphone sounded a thousand times better.
Your intention is good, I don't have a problem with it.

Interesting thread Rabbi!
 
Your intention is good, I don't have a problem with it.

Interesting thread Rabbi!
When the guy told me he was going to purchase that microphone and that mixer I told him it wasn't going to sound very good but he didn't believe me so this was my way of rubbing the the truth in his face and hoping that others do a little bit more research before they throw their money down the drain.
 
A little bit of Googling led me to a thread on eham, that discusses a similar topic:

http://www.eham.net/articles/7711

Lots of opinionating going on, but the 1st post (and, btw, I didn't read through all of them; maybe about 1/2, or so) had a link to some legal code, courtesy of Cornell Law School:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2511

Take note that this is U.S. code; Federal. Not state. State law may vary.

From the law school US code link:

"(g)It shall not be unlawful under this chapter or chapter 121 of this title for any person—
(i)
to intercept or access an electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public;
(ii)to intercept any radio communication which is transmitted—
(I)
by any station for the use of the general public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress;
(II)
by any governmental, law enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety communications system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the general public;
(III)
by a station operating on an authorized frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens band, or general mobile radio services..."

And, from the "definition" section of the same piece of legal code, is the Legal Definition of "Intercept":

"(4)
'intercept' means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device"

It seems to me, then, that "recording" is a form of "interception", as "recording " is a manner of acquisition of communication, through the use of an electrical device.

Once you have the recording, though, what about putting it on YouTube? Or some other social media site?

Well, right now, to be perfectly honest, I'll have to try to find relevant legal code later. Legal code is boring to sift through (as is case law, most of the time), and I doubt that I would find much on this specific issue.

However, I note that people are frequently filmed, behaving in absurd ways, while out in public. Those recordings often end up on YouTube, and many often go viral. They get featured in widely read blogs and news outlets. This appears to be legal; people keep posting these vids, without repercussion.

So, then, if you can film a man who is cussing out random strangers while standing in a public park and wearing a tutu and combat boots, then stick that video out on the interwebs, it strikes me that one would be hard pressed to SUCCESSFULLY sue you because you posted a recording on the internet, that was obtained as he was willingly broadcasting his voice over public airwaves via a Citizens Band Radio.

I will remind the readers, and the OP, that the legal code that has been referenced is FEDERAL. It is NOT state. A state law may vary.

Further, it is of great importance, that I state the following:

While I frequently research legal code and case law, for my own, personal, knowledge and insight, and I reach conclusions and act upon those conclusions, myself, I AM NOT a lawyer. I have never attended so much as a fleeting second in law school. Nothing in this post is intended as legal advice, nor am I offering legal services. At bare minimum, it is advised that you read applicable laws, codes, case law, etc., then reach your own conclusions and take sole responsibility for any action, or lack of action, made by yourself, as a result. It is best, however, that legal experts be consulted on matters pertaining to law. I shall repeat, to be clear; I AM NOT a lawyer, and it is unwise to mistake me for such.
 

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