Am I allowed to record people without their permission in Montgomery Maryland?
<p>Basically I suspect that someone I know is spreading malicious rumors about me, which I think falls under defamation. I've thought about trying to talk with them and find the answer, but if they do admit to it, I have nothing to go with but hearsay, so I thought about recording the convo without their knowledge. While trying to find an answer I've found mixed results. Some sources says under no circumstances, some say if a crime is being committed, and one says if it's within a public domain. Also if there is a good resource to find legal answers for local, state, and federal laws i'ld definitely appreciate it.</p>

<p>Maryland is a two party consent state, meaning that all people in a conversation must consent to being recorded. There are certain exemptions, but your stated use case would not be one of them.</p>

<p>I don't know much about Maryland's law specifically, but this question frequently comes up in the context of newsgathering.</p>

<p>To that end, the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press has a pretty helpful <a href="https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/introduction" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reporters' Recording Guide</a>, which will walk you through the differences in the law from state to state, much of which would probably be informative for your purposes, as well. You can also just jump straight to the <a href="https://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/maryland" rel="nofollow noreferrer">recording laws in Maryland</a>. </p>

<p>Wiretapping laws are no joke, though, so you should consult a lawyer before proceeding.</p>

privacy defamation recording maryland