Under what circumstances can one legally listen in on telephone conversations?

A BELTUG member asked this question, specifically with reference to telephone calls made by employees.  Also:

• Is there a difference between calls made by call center worker and non-call center workers?
• Is there a difference between listening in on a call and recording a call?

BELTUG Response:

The regulation for recording and listening in on telecommunication is found primarily in article 128 of the electronic communication law.

It states that if all the parties involved in the communication are sufficiently aware of the ‘registration’ (i.e. the recording, the purpose of the recording, and the timeframe of the recording) and have given their permission, then both the ‘registration’ (recording) of the communication and the registration of the traffic information (e.g. calling line, receiving line) is permitted in context of a business transaction (i.e. that the recording is intended for possible use as evidence of a commercial or some other business transaction).  Hence, the recording data should be destroyed once the term has passed wherein the transaction could be disputed legally. Important to note, the privacy law remains applicable.

For call centers a special (explicit) exception applies:  it is permissible to listen in and record (register) as long as the sole purpose of doing so is to control the quality of service provision in the call center.  Also here, however, permission from all parties is required.  Also, the recording data can be stored for no longer than one month.  There is some discussion on whether a call center employee can only be monitored by his/her employer, or also by the customer of the call center.  The latter is not advisable since it broadens the context.

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