As a former prosecutor and now criminal defense lawyer, people
ask me all the time, what is eavesdropping?
Or when is eavesdropping illegal?
And the legal definition of eavesdropping
here in California is when you listen
in on a private conversation without the knowledge
or consent of the parties and you use either a recording
device to record the conversation or an amplifying
device to help you hear the conversation.
Now, I'll give you an example.
Suppose you're in the bathroom stall at work,
and two co-workers come in and they start talking
about some confidential matter.
They don't realize you're in the bathroom stall,
and you just quietly overhear their conversation.
That is not eavesdropping.
That's at least not illegal eavesdropping
as the law defines it because you're not
using any sort of device to amplify or record
the conversation.
But suppose you take out your iPhone and you decide,
I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity.
I'm going to record what they're saying.
And you record their conversation.
Then it becomes eavesdropping, and that would be illegal.