Legalities Of Posting Videos Online?

Most of us do it... We hear an interesting contact on CB or Amateur Radio, make a video and post it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc.

But it it legal? Are there any privacy issues?

As many of you will know following several months of poor conditions, there was a some nice propagation yesterday (28/12/19) on the 10/11m bands. Myself, along with hundreds of others recorded conversations and general propagation and posted videos online, something I've certainly done many times over the years.

One of my videos featured a local Amateur Radio operator talking to a station in Poland on 28MHz and on this occasion the station in question wasn't too happy about having their conversation posted online and demanded that I remove the video immediately. Being the kind and considerate chap that I am, I did as I was asked as a matter of courtesy to the station in question.

This got me thinking... Are there any legal complications in posting recordings of CB or Amateur Radio conversations online?

I've always believed that due to CB and Amateur Radio being 'public services' which are meant for general reception by short wave listeners and other radio users, the moment you key your microphone you lose any rights to privacy and therefore cannot expect that your conversation will be kept 'private'. It therefore would follow that recording conversations and posting them online does not pose any legal problems in respect of privacy issues....

I have had look around online and most of the information I have found on this matter does support my feeling that post recordings online is legal and operators do not have the right to ask for recordings to be removed, however I have been unable to locate any official information which could clarify this issue.

So, does anyone out there have a link to information which could clear this matter up from a legal perspective? It's an interesting topic and something I've not thought seriously about before.....

CB / Ham transmissions are for "general consumption" so I don't think there are any legal problems with recording and / or posting them (unless U-tube have some rule about it)......see article and link below.

Is it legal to record a conversation?
The short answer is yes. There is no specific law prohibiting the recording of a conversation with anyone, about anything. The law only applies to what you do with the recording. If the recording is for your personal records or as a memory aide, there is no legal problem.

If you later decide to share the recording or make it public, there may be privacy implications that are covered by law. For example, if you later post what was thought to be a private conversation to Twitter or Facebook, there may be a problem.

If the situation went to court, one of the main considerations a judge would make was whether the person recorded could have had a reasonable expectation of privacy. In most cases, they would have had a reasonable expectation of privacy, although there are exceptions.

Consent is also influential on the law around recording conversations. That’s why when you ring up your bank they warn you before connecting you that your call may be recorded. Consent typically overrides expectations of privacy because you’re less likely to expect a call to be kept private if you consent it to being recorded.

https://www.onlinespyshop.co.uk/blog/is-it-legal-record-conversation-popular-legal-myths/

Your link seems to suggest that CB and Ham radio operators cannot expect people not to record and post their conversations as they certainly cannot have any expectation that their conversation could be considered private.

I'm with you on that one Delboy,

How can you transmit freely on the radio in an unencrypted way without expecting someone with a receiver to hear it or even record it?
Hell, CB and Ham frequencies are used in such a way....be pointless calling CQ otherwise?!?


Too many people take offence at the drop of a hat or have something to hide nowadays, or maybe always did

I would have thought that unlike a telephone conversation that is obviously private to those at each end of the conversation a radio transmission that is able to be received by any number of recipients must not be considered as having a reasonable expectation of privacy. However I think it's only polite to let the people concerned of any intention to record and post on line.

My gut feeling is there is probably nothing you can do if you are recorded and that recording ends up on line.

73's Gary.

I've got a guy replying on my blog quoting Amateur Radio Regulations to me saying it's totally illegal to record and post conversations but I don't see how any Amateur Radio regulations cover this as the person doing the recording won't necessarily be licenced.

A short wave listener isn't governed by Amateur Radio regulations.... If there are any rules about this they would come under general privacy/data protection regulations surely?

I think that refers specifically to re transmission on the amateur bands Del, I can absolutely see that being a breach of your licence, however you're referring to posting the recorded material on YouTube Facebook etc which is different altogether and not regulated by Ofcom surly?

Hi Delboy,

Think there's a dose of modern internet syndrome there........completely Madeupium!

Ofcom (UK) states "definition of general reception" and then declares "amateur and citizens' band radio transmissions" amongst others - so in all reality there is no problem there

The FCC (US) states "The FCC and the Communications Act do not forbid certain types of interception and disclosure of radio communications, including:" and then lists "Divulgence of transmissions by amateur radio or citizen band radio operators".


Can't really see a problem at all


Think most issues are the confusion of YouTube and it's "Madeupium" rules to keep YouTube users and viewers happy.

Ahh, just had a peek at your blog Delboy and can see that there is quite the confusion!

Ofcom have limited enough resources to keep up with day to day operations. Any unfounded "complaint" probably gets filed in that special filing cabinet by the desk......the one that makes a nice clunk and gets emptied daily


73s to you mate and keep up with the good blog

BTW, I don't find your postings either sad, nor boring

Thanks for the comments guys. I can genuinely not find anything to say that it illegal to record a CB or Amateur Radio conversation and then post it online.

Therefore whether an individual decides to remove such a video following a request from an offended party is entirely up to them. As a courtesy I would certainly try to accommodate anyone with a valid request but I would not be under any obligation to carry out their wishes.

Well for what it is worth when I wrote Scan125 I struggled long and hard with should I also include an audio recording facility. Now anybody can use any program or audio device to record sound but in Scan125 I went a couple of steps further with the automatic start/stop/pausing of sound, in response to squelch etc. and the naming of sound clips files with frequency, modulation and time.

I know Scan125 users around the world use the sound recording and logging to do 24x7 band profiling that they can revisit later.

My concern/dilemma with putting this function into Scan125 was "would I be aiding and abetting" people to break any laws relevant in their legal jurisdiction?

After taking some legal advice and bearing in mind that it is not illegal to own a scanner which can pick up signals that if you listen to will be breaking UK law, then it became clear that the onus/responsibility lies with the Scanner and any Program/Equipment user to comply with law.

In the states (US) they can just about listen to anything that we UK bods can't in law. UK GOV/OFCOM have written a quite wide/broad "illegal" scope without defining say police, fire, ambulance, railway, airband, etc. so their hands are not tied by closely defined scopes/clauses but have a broad legal brush to sweep up anything they choose.

I agree with others here that Amateur, CB and PMR bands are open to all (amateur with a license, rest with none) and there is no concept of privacy and all transmissions are public. So if Amateur Call Sign "ABCDEF" said I shot the neighbours cat then tough luck. Your call sign and address is public knowledge etc. and you a admitting a crime etc.

If "ABCDEF" were to say on the air "My neighbour Joe Bloggs" has just been taken away in an ambulance or has marital problems then 1) they should no be saying that as it infringes Joe's privacy with his consent 2) they are breaking their license rules 3) In this case as a recipient by ear or having recorded said transmission then you can not divulge this information and unless a crime is involved you should delete any recording.

As they say it takes two to tango. Private information / privacy should be honoured by TXer and RXer. A TXer can say what the hell they like about themselves *ONLY*. The RXer has to be respectful and prudent as appropriate.