Unless one or more parties consent, it is usually illegal to record virtual meetings. However, some conferencing platforms have in-built consent features.
Zoom, for example, notifies meeting attendees with a recording message and secures consent in the process. That way, all participants can enjoy the benefits of a live video meeting without violating any laws.
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Recording Options
Recording online meetings can be a great way to capture critical business information. From training sessions for new hires to important documentation for big projects, recordings can help teams stay abreast of key developments in projects and improve communication throughout the organization.
Thankfully, many online meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more offer recording options for both audio and video. Often, these options are available automatically and allow you to set up access for individual or groups of people so that confidential information is kept private.
For example, Notiv offers a free version of their AI-based tool that enables you to record your meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex. It not only records your meetings but also transcribes them so that your team can quickly access the essential takeaways for the best outcomes.
Recording Duration
Recording online meetings is an effective way to save proceedings and share them with other participants who missed the virtual meetings. It also serves as a good tool for training purposes, document review, interviews and other business needs.
However, before you can start recording an online meeting, you need to get consent from the call participants. One-party or all-party consent is required depending on the state you’re in, so check the laws of your local area.
You can find this information on the details pane of a web browser page or in your OneDrive or SharePoint sites. It can be a bit of a pain to figure this out, but it’s an important part of being able to use your recording tools properly.
You’ll want to know how long your recordings are stored for before you start a recording, and how to get them back once the meeting is over. Usually, your recording tools will save them in a dedicated folder.
Storage Capacity
If your meeting requires a lot of data storage, you need to consider the amount of storage capacity available. This is typically measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).
There are many different types of storage, including hard drives, solid state drive (SSD), USB drive, optical disc and magnetic tape cartridge. Generally, the higher the storage capacity, the better the data backup.
Microsoft allocates each Office 365 tenant 500 GB of Stream storage plus 0.5 GB for every licensed account (excluding users with frontline licenses, like F1). It is very important to understand this quota because Teams meeting recordings can consume a large proportion of the Stream storage allocated to your site or group.
When cloud recording usage reaches 80% of the subscribed capacity, an email alert will be sent to the billing administrator. Meetings will continue to record until the quota is reached or the meeting is ended. This enables the meeting holder to review the recording as long as necessary.
Legal Concerns
If you are planning to record online meetings, there are several legal concerns that you should be aware of. These include federal wiretapping laws and state privacy laws.
The first thing you should do is obtain participants’ consent before recording a video conference call. This can be accomplished by using Zoom’s consent button, which requires attendees to click before the meeting begins.
In addition, meeting hosts should inform participants about the recording before the call begins and provide them with an opportunity to opt out of the recording. This will help avoid any civil or criminal liability for not acquiring consent before recording video calls and will make the process easier and more transparent.
Additionally, you should consider that some states have laws prohibiting unauthorized interception and recording of electronic communications, including Microsoft Teams meetings. These laws, commonly referred to as “wiretap” laws, make it illegal to record a Microsoft Teams meeting without the consent of all or at least some of its participants.