The Law establishes no separate regime for “reporters”; Article 133 of the Criminal Code applies to everyone. Its decisive concept is the “non-public conversation”.
Three paragraphs, three acts
| Para. | Act | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 133/1 | Listening with a device to, or recording with an audio recording device, non-public conversations between persons without the consent of any of the parties | 2–5 years’ imprisonment |
| Art. 133/2 | Recording with an audio recording device a non-public conversation in which one takes part, without the consent of the other speakers | 6 months to 2 years’ imprisonment or a judicial fine |
| Art. 133/3 | Unlawfully disclosing data obtained by recording non-public conversations. “Where such disclosed data are published through the press and media, the same penalty shall be imposed.” | 2–5 years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine of up to four thousand days |
What is “non-public”?
The Law does not define it; the test is whether the conversation took place in a setting where anyone could hear it or within a restricted circle. The following distinction is useful in practice.
| Capable of being public | Non-public |
|---|---|
| A speech at a press conference | A conversation between two people in a closed room |
| A speech from a platform at a rally | A telephone conversation |
| A presentation at a public panel | An internal meeting |
| A statement made loudly in the street | A private conversation |
A reporter recording their own interview
This is the most common situation and it is governed by Article 133/2: a person who records, with an audio recording device, a non-public conversation in which they take part, without the consent of the other speakers, is punished with six months to two years’ imprisonment or a judicial fine.
A reporter recording an interviewee without telling them can therefore fall within that paragraph where the conversation is not public. Whether it is public is assessed on the facts.
Communications content is separately protected
Telephone calls, messages and e-mails are communications content and fall under Article 132 of the Criminal Code:
- Art. 132/1 — infringing the confidentiality of communications: 1–3 years’ imprisonment; where the infringement occurs by recording the content, the sentence is doubled.
- Art. 132/2 — unlawfully disclosing communications content: 2–5 years’ imprisonment.
- Art. 132/3 — unlawfully disclosing in public the content of communications to which one is a party, without the other party’s consent: 1–3 years’ imprisonment. “Where such disclosed data are published through the press and media, the same penalty shall be imposed.”
The public interest defence
Article 24/2 of the Civil Code provides that an attack on personality rights may be justified by a “superior private or public interest”. But that is a rule of private law and does not of itself displace the criminal norms in Articles 132 to 134 of the Criminal Code. Its effect in criminal proceedings is assessed on the facts; it is not a shield to be relied on in advance.
Hidden camera work is covered in the hidden camera guide and telephone recordings in the phone recording guide.