Newly released FAQs on U. recording policy, explained

On Jan. 2, the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life released a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding a new University policy regulating audio and visual recording. The policy classifies any recording made at events deemed private — where not all participants have consented — as “secret or covert,” placing such recordings in violation of University rules.

The new University Recording Policy was passed at the Nov. 10 Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) meeting with no votes in opposition and went into effect on Jan. 1. The newly released FAQs shed light on previously ambiguous aspects of the recording policy.

According to the FAQ website, recording at events where “there is a reasonable expectation of privacy,” such as colloquial seminars or certain meetings that have been promised this expectation of privacy, is prohibited. Exceptions to the recording ban are permitted if “all participants give consent … prior to any recording” to the party intending to record.

“The goal is to ensure that the use of audio and visual recording devices does not breach the reasonable expectation of privacy in our educational, residential, research and workplace environments,” the FAQs state.

The FAQs define a “reasonable expectation of privacy” as when participants of an event or conversation “have received assurances to that effect.” If a leader of a meeting, seminar, or other form of conversation verbally describes that event as “private,” for example, all participants reasonably expect that their privacy will be maintained, according to the website.

This justification is rooted in the assumption that “members of the University community generally have a reasonable expectation of privacy about their private conversations,” the FAQs state.

However, recording at public events, such as advertised public speaker events, is permitted unless the speaker, performer, or party hosting the event explicitly states otherwise. “The policy does not cover meetings open to all current members of the resident University community or to the public,” according to the FAQ website.

Additionally, events that have their own set of rules concerning audio recording, such as CPUC and faculty meetings, will not be affected by the policy. These bodies will continue to set their relevant policies internally.

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“It does not replace or modify existing policies and rules that govern how meetings are organized or run,” the FAQs clarify.

Per the FAQs, individuals who make “secret or covert recordings” would be subject to disciplinary action. Any transmission or distribution of the original or a copy of a recording, which includes “physically or electronically publishing, posting, sending, forwarding, delivering, or sharing” it, also constitutes a violation of the policy and serves as grounds for punishment.

Regarding the nature of the penalties, the FAQs state that “failure to comply with the provisions of this policy may result in disciplinary action referenced in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities, Human Resources Policy, and Rules and Procedures of the Faculty, with the disciplinary action depending on the severity of the particular infraction and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.” The FAQs do not specify a specific set of potential penalties, which can range from a warning to expulsion, dismissal, or termination for students, faculty, and staff.

Whether the policy has been violated will be decided by the “applicable University disciplinary bodies” as referenced in the above documents. If the perpetrator is not a member of the University community, then they may be subject to “other restrictions,” including being “temporarily or permanently barred from the University,” the FAQs state.

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The FAQs claim that the University will continue to accommodate the needs of journalists, stating that the recording policy “will be implemented with an eye to maintaining existing media access and to supporting media accuracy, which may be helped by audio recordings that supplement note-taking.” The FAQs also make clear that the policy will only apply to “audio or visual recordings” and does not prohibit written notes.

“We will add to these FAQs as appropriate as this new policy enters use,” the site states.

Luke Grippo is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey, and typically covers University and town politics, on a national, regional, and local scale. He can be reached at lg5452[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Editor's Note: The piece has been updated to clarify that not all meetings are subject to this policy, nor are they the only type of event subject to this policy. Many meetings will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine whether the policy applies.