Are Uber and Lyft drivers allowed to record audio and video of passengers?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Are Uber and Lyft drivers allowed to record audio and video of passengers?
I have recently started driving for Uber and
Lyft in St. Louis, MO. My questions are can
you record audio and video of passengers in
the car and if so are there steps that I need
to take to inform passengers that they are
being recorded?
Asked on May 14, 2017 under Personal Injury, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You can always video, since there is no reasonable privacy expectation for passengers in another person's car. For audio, since they could be speaking on a phone, to another passenger, etc.--i.e. not only directly to you--you need to inform them *before* they get in the car that you will be recording them, so that they have the chance to decline your services before you start recording. (If they use you and get in your car with awareness that you will record, they can be said to have consented to it.) If you record them without consent, you may be violating the same law as is broken by wiretapping; and if you wait to tell them until you are driving, they can't effectively consent: because they are a "captive audience" at that time, their consent will be held to be coerced and not valid. In addition to orally telling them before they get int, have a prominent notice or sign where passengers sit reinforcing the recording.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.