Is It Illegal To Record A Conversation In Pennsylvania?

We all have seen those videos on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc, of the random argument videos that people record and upload. Does anyone else get secondhand embarrassment for the people who cause a scene in these videos?

In certain situations, recording an encounter with someone is completely necessary to protect yourself and keep yourself safe. Although we see them constantly on the internet, am I the only person who’s wondering if it’s legal to record anyone you get into a verbal or physical altercation with?

Sometimes I think to myself, there’s no way someone can just record anyone they want at any time and have full rights to the video and be able to legally post it online. I had to do some digging to make sure that if I ever encountered a ‘Karen’ out in the wild, I would be allowed to record the conversation in case anything legal ever came out of it.

Is It Illegal To Record A Conversation In Pennsylvania?

Unfortunately, there is a law in place in Pennsylvania that makes it illegal to record private conversations. This includes conversations in public places, in private settings, etc.

In Pennsylvania, there's a law in place called the Wiretap law which makes it illegal for you to record conversations unless all parties give consent to do so. We all have seen those videos online where people are clearly sticking their phones in someone else's face when they get into an altercation and I would say that is the only way yoou could legally get away with doing that in Pennsylvania.

Other states have laws in place where only 1 of the people involved in the conversation have to consent to recording, but this isn't the case for Pennsylvania.