Bugging offices is not a crime, say experts

Bugging offices in the UK is not a criminal offence, according to surveillance and legal experts speaking to OUT-LAW Radio. While recording a phone conversation is a criminal offence, someone could place a recording device in an office legally, they said.

In an investigation into corporate surveillance techniques, the weekly technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio discovered that no offence is committed by placing a bug in a workplace to secretly record conversations.

"There's nothing in any piece of legislation that stops you from putting a physical bug in a room, an office or something like that provided you are there lawfully and you haven't committed any criminal offence to get access to it," said Victoria Southern, a lawyer at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW. (more)(podcast)(transcript)