Source: https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/georgia/
Timestamp: 2020-07-07 18:24:49
Document Index: 100402265

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16']

Georgia - The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Table of contents for Georgia
An individual may record or disclose the contents of an in-person, telephone or electronic communication if he or she is a party to the communication or has received prior consent from one of the parties.
The state also prohibits the use of cameras to observe private activities without the consent of all parties involved, and also prohibits disclosure of the contents of illegally obtained video recordings or images.
Violators of these rules can face criminal penalties and/or civil lawsuits.
An individual can record in-person conversations where either the person is a party to the conversation or at least one of the participants has consented to the recording. Ga. Code Ann. §§ 16-11-62, -66(a).
The statute only applies to the “private conversation of another which shall originate in any private place,” so consent would not be required to record conversations occurring in public. Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-62(1).
State law also prohibits trespassing on private property to eavesdrop or secretly observe activities of another. Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-62(3).
Similarly, a person who is either a participant in a telephone or other electronic communication, or with consent from one of the participants, is allowed to record or intercept any such communication. Ga. Code Ann. §§ 16-11-62, -66(a).
Like some other states, Georgia’s wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes specifically allow for a parent or guardian to secretly record or listen to telephone conversations of minor children without consent for the purpose of ensuring their welfare. Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-66(d).
Violation of any provisions of the statute is a felony and carries a penalty of imprisonment between one and five years or a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-69.
While the eavesdropping and wiretapping laws do not explicitly list potential civil penalties, courts have held that those whose conversations were recorded without at least one party’s consent in violation of the laws can bring civil lawsuits against the violators. Kemeness v. Worth Cty., No. 1:19-CV-120 (LAG), 2020 WL 2764020, at *7 (M.D. Ga. Mar. 18, 2020).
It is illegal for any person to divulge or distribute to any person photographs or video of another’s activities in a private place without the consent of all parties involved. Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-62(6).