Recording
G.L. c. 272, § 99 — secret recording needs the prior authority of every party
Secretly, without everyone's authority. In Massachusetts, an interception is secretly hearing or secretly recording the contents of a wire or oral communication with a device, by anyone other than a person given prior authority by all parties to it. Willfully committing or attempting an interception is punished by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, up to five years in state prison or two and one half years in jail, or both.
The statute's definition turns on the word secretly: what it forbids is hearing or recording in secret without every party's prior authority. An oral communication, as it defines the term, is speech, other than speech broadcast over the public airwaves.
Willfully editing or tampering with a recording to be used in a court proceeding is a separate offense under the same section.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.L. c. 272, § 99 — Interception of wire and oral communications
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.