Illinois Supreme Court Strikes Down Eavesdropping Statute as Unconstitutional

This blog recently reported on developments in California regarding potential liability for businesses under California’s Call Recording and Monitoring Privacy Laws for recording or monitoring inbound and outbound telephone calls with customers or employees as well certification pitfalls to such cases.  Other states, such as Illinois, have similar criminal statutes related to the recording or monitoring of such calls.  In Illinois, for example, it is a crime for any person to record any conversation or electronic communication unless done so with the permission and consent of all parties to the communication.  See 720 ILCS 5/14-2.  While recent California opinions have curtailed the ability for plaintiffs to bring class action complaints under California’s privacy laws, the Illinois Supreme Court has gone even further.  In a pair of opinions recently released by the Illinois Supreme Court, People v. Clark and People v. Melongo, the Illinois eavesdropping law was declared unconstitutional as violating the overbreadth doctrine under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

To read this blog post click here