Home surveillance legal in California but some gray areas
Home security cameras and dash cams are legal in California. However, like in many legal cases, there are gray areas. California is a “two-party consent” state, this means permission must be granted from all parties to make a recording lawful. Typically, this law applies to “confidential communication” such as a private phone call or private conversation. A person at a public gathering shouldn’t expect that their conversation can’t be recorded. As an overall rule, dash cams and home surveillance cameras are not used to record secret conversations but are more so a personal protection or defense while driving or against intruders. Owners of these cameras don’t need to ask permission to record as long as there is no audio eavesdropping on a private conversation. This applies to home security cameras.