Is it legal to record your neighbors in New Jersey? NJ recording laws.

Nowadays, there is a possibility that you can end up in the background of a viral video.

Clips of heated public altercations, reaction-provoking street interviews and people trying to capture footage of off-duty public figures flood social media feeds and news outlets. If you're not careful, your face or voice could be the latest trending topic online.

But what if you don't want to be caught off guard? Is it your legal right to say, 'I don't want to be recorded?' Or perhaps you're the one recording in order to protect yourself and are curious about what your rights are.

With the ongoing proliferation of social media and what some call 'surveillance culture,' people are asking if they can be recorded without their consent.

For New Jerseyans, the general answer is yes, but it depends. Since the state is a one-party consent state under the New Jersey's Wiretapping Act, that means if you are recording a conversation between you and someone else, you can be the one giving permission to yourself to record since you're participating in the conversation.

According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the consent is required of "... at least one party to a conversation before recording an in-person conversation in which a person has a reasonable expectation that such communication is not subject to recording."

However, recording a chat that you are not a part of may violate federal and state wiretap laws and potentially lead to criminal charges, according to criminal defense attorneys at Rigden Lieberman Mignogna. Additionally, a person can record unless they're doing so for the purpose of committing a crime or torturous act.

This one-party recording consent applies for electronic communication such as phone calls and in-person conversations, but rules start to differ when video recording is in the picture.

In New Jersey, recording surveillance is legal and you can record spaces where people have no expectation of privacy, like parks and other public areas.

Recording, photographing or filming people in 'private areas' like bathrooms, changing rooms, locker rooms and other similar spaces where their intimate parts might be out is strictly prohibited, as well as recording someone in sexual acts without their permission.

Yet the line gets blurry for what is considered private. For instance, a person in their car or a neighbor's bedroom window is illegal because they have the expectation for privacy.

RecordingLaw.com states, "Violating New Jersey's video recording laws is considered a crime of the third degree which is punishable by imprisonment of 3 to 5 years and a fine not exceeding $15,000," with an illegal recording considered a third degree crime.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Is it legal to record your neighbors in New Jersey? NJ recording laws.