Who will win this fight? In the red corner, Kim and Kanye and in the blue corner, Taylor. This public fight between Kanye and Taylor over some lyrics about Taylor in Kanye's song Famous just went to the next round. Yesterday, Kim posted a recorded video of a conversation between Kanye and Taylor about that song. For everyone eager to know what was said, a transcript of that call is available here. Recording a telephone call sounds like a smart decision especially, if you believe there might be issues later. However, you might want to be careful about where you are when you record that call. California is a two-party consent state, which means that it is illegal to record a "confidential communication" without the other parties' consent. Cal. Penal Code § 632(a). A call maybe a confidential communication where the circumstances reasonably indicate that the communication was intended only for the parties, but cannot be a confidential communication where "the parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded." Cal. Penal Code § 632(c). In addition to criminal penalties of up to a $2,500 fine and/or a year in jail, the party recording the call could be subject to a civil lawsuit where the penalties could be $5,000.00 or three times the amount of actual damages. Cal. Penal Code § 637.2. Moreover, the party that releases a recording of a confidential communication could be subject to a fine up to $5,000 and/or a year in jail. Cal. Penal Code § 637. Although this public fight is interesting, I'm curious to know whether Kanye received consent to record the call (I suspect he did not after all who in a telephone call says that they are recording the call) or whether Taylor knew the call was being recorded. The next great question is whether Kim and Kanye have actually gained credibility and popularity from releasing these videos.
updated on 7/19 and 7/20