A bill working its way through the Louisiana Legislature would require anyone recording a face-to-face conversation to first tell the other parties they are doing so; a significant departure from the state's current one-party consent law.
House Bill 410, introduced by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Metairie, would prohibit the use of any device to record or transcribe a direct conversation unless all participants are specifically informed that the recording is taking place. Violations would not result in criminal charges but would expose the recorder to civil liability, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Louisiana is currently a one-party consent state, meaning it is generally legal to record a conversation even if only one party knows it is being recorded. HB 410 would not go so far as to make Louisiana a "two-party consent" state, which would require all parties to agree to be recorded, but it would impose a notification requirement that does not currently exist under state law.
The bill's stated rationale cites advances in recording technology, artificial intelligence, wearable devices such as Meta smart glasses, and automated transcription tools that allow conversations to be permanently preserved digitally.
The legislation comes amid a wave of incidents involving so-called "manfluencers," a term for male social media influencers who have used Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses to secretly record women in public and post the footage online. The glasses, which resemble ordinary eyewear, contain a built-in camera that is not readily visible to those being recorded.
According to a report by The Advocate, Schlegel cited the surge in smart glasses sales as a driving concern. "This is going to become more and more of a thing where these secret devices are just recording people, and I think it's going to harm privacy," she said.
The bill includes several exemptions. It would not apply to public or semi-public meetings, law enforcement activity, emergencies, or situations capturing evidence of a crime, or public officials performing official duties in public places. It would also preserve the right to record law enforcement officers in public, provided the person doing so does not physically interfere with or materially obstruct lawful activity.
The measure would not limit or supersede Louisiana's existing Electronic Surveillance Act.
Opposition from victim advocates
Despite broad support for the bill's privacy goals, it has drawn criticism from advocates for sexual assault survivors. According to a report by The Advocate, Morgan Lamandre, CEO of Sexual Trauma & Awareness Response, said the measure could hamper victims' ability to collect evidence of abuse or obtain confessions without law enforcement involvement.
"Sometimes they say all kinds of things. Our survivors make recordings of defendants admitting that they did certain things," Lamandre told The Advocate, adding that people are unlikely to make incriminating statements if they know they are being recorded.
Schlegel has acknowledged those concerns. According to The Advocate, she is bringing an amendment that would remove all references to "consent" from the bill and clarify that the law would only apply to recordings made intentionally.
Bill stalled in committee
Schlegel voluntarily deferred HB 410 on March 10 while she worked to address concerns raised about the measure. The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee must approve the bill before it can advance to the full House. According to the Louisiana Legislature's website, the bill has been voluntarily deferred in committee as of this week.
If passed, HB 410 would add new sections to Title 9 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes governing civil code ancillaries.
