PRIVACY LAWS GONE AWRY
UCLA law professor EUGENE VOLOKH discussed the dark side of privacy laws Tuesday morning. I’m late, but I’ve decided Eugene’s discussion is too good not to share.

Many states prohibit people from tape recording conversations without the speakers’ consent. Some states only prohibit tape recording conversations where the person doing the recording isn’t involved. Essentially, the intent of these laws is to protect people from eavesdropping and warrantless intrusions and misconduct from the government.

But some states prohibit taping conversations unless all parties grant permission. Eugene Volokh RECOUNTS how the Massachusetts government used its “privacy” law to restrict people’s liberty and their ability to protect themselves from government misconduct, when a motorist was convicted of four counts of wiretapping for tape recording his traffic stop.