Is California a one-party consent state?

Penal Code § 632 makes it a crime to record a confidential communication without the consent of all parties. § 632.7 covers calls that involve a cellular or cordless phone, and asks for all parties' consent whether or not the call is confidential.

The California Supreme Court held that California's all-party rule governs, going forward, calls a Georgia office records with clients in California. It did not award damages for the past calls.

The California Supreme Court held that § 632.7 applies to the parties to a call, so a business that records its own calls with a cell or cordless phone needs every party's consent.

Some California suits treat the AI vendor that processes a call as a possible third party listening in, under Penal Code § 631. Ask counsel how that applies to your setup.

Recording a confidential call without every party's consent (§ 632), or recording a call that involves a cell or cordless phone without every party's consent (§ 632.7), can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, with a fine of up to $2,500 and up to 1 year in county jail or a state prison term of up to 3 years (§§ 632(a), 1170(h)). The fine rises to $10,000 for a repeat offender. A person recorded can sue for $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is higher, and does not have to prove actual harm (§ 637.2).

That same live announcement has to say when the recorded message uses an artificial voice.

Using a bot online, on a public-facing website or app, to hide that it is a bot in order to push a sale or sway a vote is unlawful. A clear and conspicuous disclosure avoids liability. The law is written for online accounts, so it may not reach a phone call, but an opening line that says the caller is talking to an AI assistant is the kind of disclosure it describes.

A health facility, clinic or physician's office that uses generative AI to talk with patients about their clinical information has to say, at the start and end of an audio call, that the message was generated by AI, and explain how to reach a person. Scheduling and billing calls are not covered, and messages a licensed provider reviews are exempt.

Outbound calls that use an AI voice need the called party's prior express consent, unless the call is for an emergency or fits an FCC exemption. AI-voice calls that include telemarketing need prior express written consent. The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that an AI-generated voice is an artificial voice under the TCPA, so these calls must also identify the caller and, for telemarketing, offer a way to opt out.

Federal rules allow telemarketing calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the called party's local time. Some states set a shorter window, listed below when they do.

An automatic dialing-announcing device can play its recorded message only after a live, unrecorded voice states the nature of the call and the business's name, address and phone number, and asks whether the person agrees to hear the message.