Last Updated on September 12, 2024
There is something inherently terrifying about leaving your child with a stranger. You may leave the child in the hands of a friend or family member, but that can still leave you wondering what is happening with your child when you are away. Even when you just leave your house or pet in the hands of a housesitter or dogsitter, you may be nervous about leaving someone in your house while you’re away. With all the what-ifs and dangers that could happen while someone is in your home without you, it makes sense to consider using a nanny cam to see what’s going on when you can’t be there in person. But in California, using a nanny cam without letting the sitter know about it could be against the law.
California’s Eavesdropping Law
The first issue is that most nanny cams have audio recordings. This makes sense as, obviously, you want to know if a babysitter is telling something terrible to your child. But recording someone’s voice without their permission is a violation of the state’s eavesdropping law. That’s because California is what’s known as a two-party state, meaning one side cannot record the other without consent.
Eavesdropping with an electronic device can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor. As a felony, the maximum sentence is three years in prison, whereas a misdemeanor only is punishable by one year in jail plus up to $2,500 in fines.
Right to Privacy Laws
As long as you turn the sound off though, having a security camera in your home is completely legal -and not a terrible idea even aside from being concerned about who is watching your child, pet or home. In fact, you could even introduce a video recording without audio into court as evidence, even if the other party has not consented to be recorded.
That being said, you can’t put security cameras everywhere. If someone, including a babysitter, has a reasonable expectation of privacy, they cannot be filmed. This means you can’t film your bathroom and if you have a live-in nanny or hire a housesitter to sleep over, then you cannot have a camera in the room where the caretaker is expected to sleep. In fact, if you film someone’s genitals without their consent, you can face invasion of privacy charges punishable by up to 6 months in jail. Were you to share that content, you could also be subject to the state’s revenge porn laws, punishable by up to one year in jail.
If You’re Honest, You Can Record Anything
If you are just terrified of what a sitter may say to your child or actions he or she may take in a private room such as a bathroom, you can add security cameras to every room of the house, even the bathroom -as long as you disclose this fact to anyone who enters your home. That being said, your efforts to protect your home and family could backfire if you end up scaring away potentially good babysitters who feel uncomfortable with such an arrangement.
If you have been accused of any type of crime related to unlawfully recording someone without their permission, it’s important you contact a criminal lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights. Please call (760) 643-4050 or (858) 486-3024 to schedule a free consultation with attorney Peter M. Liss.
