Question: do you have to have consent to record a conversation

Answer: Yes, Telephone tapping is strictly regulated in many countries, ``especially in all developed democracies, to safeguard the privacy of telephone users.'' Telephone tapping often must be authorized by a court, and is normally only approved when evidence shows it is not possible to detect criminal or subversive activity in less intrusive ways; often the law and regulations require that the crime investigated must be at least of a certain severity. In many jurisdictions however, permission for telephone tapping is easily obtained on a routine basis without further investigation by the court or other entity granting such permission. Illegal or unauthorized telephone tapping is often a criminal offense. However, in certain jurisdictions such as Germany, criminal courts may accept illegally recorded phone calls without the other party's consent as evidence.