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Arkansas Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules

Independently fact-checkedEditor-reviewedLaw current as of August 8, 2026By Recording Law Editorial TeamReviewed September 23, 202613 min read

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 15, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 8, 2026. · 11 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Arkansas Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules

Arkansas is a one-party consent state. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a), any participant in a wire, landline, oral, telephonic, or wireless communication may record it without telling the other party. Recording a conversation without being a participant and without any party's consent is a Class A misdemeanor under § 5-60-120(b), punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, plus potential federal civil liability.

Arkansas recording law at a glance

QuestionAnswer
Consent ruleOne-party consent
Main statuteArk. Code Ann. § 5-60-120
When recording is illegalNon-participant records without any party's prior consent
Criminal penaltyClass A misdemeanor: up to 1 year jail, fine up to $2,500
Civil penaltyNo state statutory remedy; federal ECPA: $100/day or $10,000 min, plus punitives + attorney fees
Hidden camerasClass D felony (1st/2nd offense), Class C felony (3rd+ offense, or any offense where the victim is under 14) under § 5-16-101
Recording policePermitted in principle; 8th Circuit has NOT clearly established the First Amendment right (Molina, 2023)

For statutes, penalties, and court decisions in depth, see the Arkansas recording laws in-depth section below.

Recording in-person conversations in Arkansas

Arkansas's consent rule for face-to-face conversations runs through the "oral communication" category of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a). An oral communication is a spoken conversation in which the speakers reasonably expect that no one outside the conversation will overhear.

If you are part of the conversation, you can record it without informing anyone else. If you are not, you need at least one participant's prior consent. Planting a hidden audio device to capture a conversation between people who did not consent is the textbook § 5-60-120 violation. An employee recording a one-on-one meeting with a manager is lawful; a neighbor planting a microphone next door is a Class A misdemeanor.

Note that § 5-60-120 is an audio statute. Silent video recording in a public space with no reasonable expectation of privacy is not governed by this section. Video recording in private spaces that captures intimate areas falls under the separate voyeurism statute at § 5-16-101, discussed below.

Arkansas over-the-shoulder crop of two people seated across a small table mid-conversation

Recording phone calls in Arkansas

Section 5-60-120 covers landline, telephonic (including VoIP), and wireless calls. As a participant, you can record any call you are part of without disclosing it. The rule covers landline, cell, VoIP (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, FaceTime), conference calls, and push-to-talk messages when you are the sender or recipient.

For more detail on call-specific rules, see Arkansas Phone Call Recording Laws.

Interstate calls: use the stricter state's rule

Federal ECPA at 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d) is a floor, not a ceiling. When an Arkansas caller is on the line with someone in an all-party consent state, the more protective state's rule can apply from that end of the call.

States that require all-party consent for at least some recording contexts include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. When calling someone in those states, disclose at the start and get consent from every party. A brief "this call may be recorded" announcement avoids civil and criminal exposure in the other state.

Arkansas a desk phone handset lifted slightly off its cradle on an office desk with a coiled cord

Hidden cameras, doorbells, and nanny cams

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-16-101 (video voyeurism) prohibits secretly observing, photographing, filming, or videotaping a person in a residence, school, place of business, or other structure when (1) the person is in a private area out of public view, (2) the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and (3) the person has not consented. All three elements must be present.

Bathrooms, locker rooms, fitting rooms, exam rooms, and guest bedrooms are the clearest cases. A common open workspace, a public lobby, or a store's retail floor typically does not satisfy the "private area out of public view" element.

A first or second offense under § 5-16-101(a) is a Class D felony: up to 6 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. A third or subsequent offense is a Class C felony: 3 to 10 years. Separately, § 5-16-101(c)(1)(C) makes a subsection (a) violation a Class C felony whenever the victim is under fourteen years of age, no matter whether it is a first offense. These grades are far harsher than the audio-only Class A misdemeanor under § 5-60-120.

Ring doorbells and exterior cameras pointed at a sidewalk, driveway, or porch are generally lawful because the targeted area is not a "private area out of public view." Audio capture from the same device is still governed by § 5-60-120: recording conversations of guests or service workers without any party's consent can be a § 5-60-120 violation.

For camera-specific rules, see Arkansas Security Camera Laws and Arkansas Voyeurism Laws.

Arkansas a dome security camera in the corner of an office ceiling, soft interior daylight

Penalties for illegal recording in Arkansas

Arkansas's recording-law penalties split across several statutes depending on what was recorded and how.

StatuteOffenseClassPrisonFine
§ 5-60-120(b)Audio interception without consentClass A misdemeanorUp to 1 yearUp to $2,500
§ 5-16-101 (1st or 2nd)Video voyeurismClass D felonyUp to 6 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-16-101 (3rd+)Video voyeurismClass C felony3 to 10 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-16-101(c)(1)(C)Video voyeurism, victim under 14 (any offense number)Class C felony3 to 10 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-16-101(b)Secret recording of a person's body (concealed equipment)Class B misdemeanor (Class A if distributed or repeat offense)Up to 90 days (up to 1 year if escalated)Up to $1,000 (§ 5-4-201(b)(2)); up to $2,500 if escalated to Class A
§ 5-26-314(d)(3)Unlawful distribution of an intimate image, baselineClass A misdemeanorUp to 1 yearUp to $2,500
§ 5-26-314(d)(2)Same, where the actor had a purpose to cause physical, mental, economic, or reputational harm, or received anything of valueClass D felonyUp to 6 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-26-314(d)(1)Same, on the specified repeat offensesClass C felony3 to 10 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-14-139 (1st)Deepfake visual material (creation or distribution)Class A misdemeanorUp to 1 yearUp to $2,500
§ 5-14-139 (2nd+)Deepfake visual material (creation or distribution)Class D felonyUp to 6 yearsUp to $10,000
§ 5-71-208Harassment (catch-all for non-sexual surreptitious/repeated recording)Class A misdemeanorUp to 1 yearUp to $2,500

Sentencing anchors: Class A misdemeanor penalties are set by Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-401(b)(1) (up to 1 year) and § 5-4-201(b)(1) (fine up to $2,500). Class D felony is set by § 5-4-401(a)(5) (up to 6 years) and § 5-4-201(a)(2) (fine up to $10,000). Class C felony is set by § 5-4-401(a)(4) (3 to 10 years).

The Harassment Backstop

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-71-208 (harassment) serves as a catch-all for non-sexual surreptitious or repeated video surveillance that does not fit the voyeurism statute. Section 5-60-120(b) reaches audio only. Section 5-16-101 reaches video only where nudity or a private body area is captured in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy. Non-sexual surreptitious video in a private setting (a hidden camera in a hallway or office, for example) does not always fit either statute. Section 5-71-208 fills that gap when the recording is repeated, unwanted, serves no legitimate purpose, and is intended to harass, annoy, or alarm. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor, matching the audio penalty tier. Together with common-law intrusion upon seclusion under Dunlap v. McCarty, § 5-71-208 covers the non-sexual surreptitious-video gap when the conduct is targeted and repeated.

Civil liability

Arkansas's eavesdropping chapter (Chapter 60) contains no civil damages provision. Section 5-60-120 is criminal-only: no statutory damages floor, no attorney-fee provision, and no private right of action at the state level.

Plaintiffs harmed by illegal recording have three routes. First, federal ECPA at 18 U.S.C. § 2520 provides statutory damages of $100 per day or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Second, Arkansas common-law invasion of privacy under Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5, 678 S.W.2d 361 (1984) provides an intrusion-upon-seclusion claim. Third, the new Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-119 (Act 827 of 2025) provides a civil cause of action for synthetic intimate imagery, with actual, compensatory, and punitive damages plus injunctive relief and attorney fees.

Arkansas wooden gavel on a sound block on a judge's bench

Recording the police in Arkansas

Arkansas sits in the Eighth Circuit, which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The 8th Circuit's posture on civilian recording of on-duty police is more restrictive than most other federal circuits.

In Molina v. City of St. Louis, 59 F.4th 334 (8th Cir. 2023), reh'g en banc denied, 65 F.4th 994 (8th Cir. 2023), cert. denied sub nom. Molina v. Book, 144 S. Ct. 558 (2024), the court held that observing and recording police was not clearly established as a First Amendment right in the circuit, and granted officers qualified immunity. That is a stronger negative position than circuits that simply have not addressed the question.

Earlier, Chestnut v. Wallace, 947 F.3d 1085 (8th Cir. 2020), recognized a clearly established right to observe police-citizen interactions at a distance, a narrower proposition than a stand-alone right to record. Robbins v. City of Des Moines, 984 F.3d 673 (8th Cir. 2021), granted qualified immunity on First Amendment claims while reversing it on Fourth Amendment seizure grounds.

Practical guidance: stand at a reasonable distance, do not interfere with an active scene, comply with lawful step-back orders, avoid trespass, and pair any First Amendment claim with a Fourth Amendment claim where the facts support it. The Fourth Amendment lane (unlawful seizure of equipment, false arrest) has fared better in 8th Circuit cases.

For a deeper treatment, see Arkansas Laws on Recording Police.

Special topics in Arkansas

Public meetings and the Arkansas FOIA

Arkansas expressly codifies the right to record open public meetings. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-106 (the Sunshine Law) requires meetings of municipalities, counties, school districts, and state boards supported wholly or partly by public funds to be open, and Act 310 of 2021 (SB 194) amended the FOIA "copy" definition to include image capture, still and moving photography, and video and digital recording. Public bodies must retain a recording of each open meeting for at least one year under § 25-19-106(d)(2). Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-107 supplies the civil enforcement route: an immediate appeal to circuit court, a hearing set within seven days, contempt for refusing to comply with the court's order, and fee-shifting. The criminal penalty sits in a different section. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-104 ("Penalty") makes any person who negligently violates the chapter guilty of a Class C misdemeanor, which carries up to 30 days under § 5-4-401(b)(3) and a fine up to $500 under § 5-4-201(b)(3).

Workplace recording and NLRA

Arkansas is one-party consent for workplace audio: an employee can record any conversation they participate in, including one-on-ones with managers, HR meetings, performance reviews, and disciplinary interviews. Private-sector employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act must evaluate no-recording handbook rules under Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023), where a blanket no-recording rule is presumptively unlawful under Section 8(a)(1) unless the employer shows a substantial business interest achievable by no narrower rule. NLRB GC 25-05 (Feb. 14, 2025) rescinded certain General Counsel memoranda but did not overrule Stericycle, and NLRB GC 25-07 (June 25, 2025) added a narrow per se bar on surreptitious recording of collective-bargaining sessions. See Arkansas Workplace Recording Laws for the full analysis.

Deepfake and synthetic intimate imagery

Act 827 of 2025 (signed April 17, 2025) created two linked statutes. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-139 criminalizes unlawful creation or distribution of deepfake visual material of a sexual nature without the depicted person's consent (Class A misdemeanor first offense, Class D felony second or subsequent), and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-119 establishes a civil cause of action for actual, compensatory, and punitive damages plus injunctive relief and attorney fees. The separate Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-314, now titled "Unlawful distribution of an intimate image," covers non-consensual distribution of real intimate images. Act 981 of 2025 rewrote the offense and removed the two elements that used to narrow it: a person eighteen or older now commits it by purposely distributing an intimate image of an identifiable person without that person's consent, with no harassment purpose required and no family, household, or dating relationship required between actor and victim. It still reaches only real imagery, so AI-generated synthetic material remains § 5-14-139's territory.

Federal overlays

18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d) sets a one-party consent floor that Arkansas's § 5-60-120 matches. The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. No. 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) criminalizes knowing publication of non-consensual intimate imagery including AI deepfakes and requires covered platforms to remove flagged content within 48 hours (compliance deadline May 19, 2026). Body-worn camera footage is governed by the Arkansas FOIA, § 25-19-101 et seq., and is presumptively a public record subject to that chapter's exemptions. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-6-701 is one of those narrow exemptions rather than a general body-camera statute: titled "Confidentiality of certain law enforcement records," it makes a record depicting or recording the death of a law enforcement officer confidential and exempt from FOIA disclosure, with limited family access and a circuit-court petition route for everyone else. Arkansas has no statewide body-cam mandate (HB 1219 of the 2025 session was withdrawn by the author February 6, 2025).

  • April 17, 2025: Governor Sanders signed HB 1529 / Act 827 of 2025, creating the deepfake criminal offense at Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-139 and the civil cause of action at § 16-118-119. Effective on the general 90-day-after-sine-die schedule.
  • May 19, 2025: President Trump signed the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. No. 119-12), adding a federal criminal hook and 48-hour platform-takedown duty. Platform-compliance deadline: May 19, 2026.
  • January 24, 2025: The Eleventh Circuit, in Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, 127 F.4th 303 (11th Cir. 2025), vacated Part III.D of the FCC's 2023 Order (38 FCC Rcd. 12247), which had amended 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(9) to impose both the one-to-one-consent restriction and the "logically and topically associated" restriction.
  • January 15, 2024: U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Molina v. Book, 144 S. Ct. 558 (2024), leaving the 8th Circuit's "not clearly established" ruling on recording police as final binding precedent.
  • February 6, 2025: HB 1219 (statewide body-worn camera mandate) was withdrawn by the author and did not become law. Body-cam adoption in Arkansas remains agency-by-agency.

Arkansas recording laws in depth

The pages below each cover a specific recording context in greater depth than this hub can.

By type of recording

By place or relationship

More Arkansas laws

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Recording laws change and apply differently to each situation. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed Arkansas attorney.

More Arkansas Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arkansas a one-party or two-party consent state?

Arkansas is a one-party consent state under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a). A participant in any wire, landline, oral, telephonic, or wireless communication may record it without telling the other party. Arkansas is not a two-party or all-party consent state for audio recording.

Can I record a phone call in Arkansas without telling the other person?

Yes, if you are a participant in the call. The one-party rule covers landline calls, cell phone calls, VoIP calls, and conference calls. If the other party is in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, or another all-party state, the safer practice is to disclose at the start of the call and get everyone's consent.

What is the penalty for illegally recording someone in Arkansas?

Illegal audio interception under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120 is a Class A misdemeanor: up to 1 year in jail and a fine up to $2,500. Hidden-camera video voyeurism under § 5-16-101(a) is a Class D felony for a first or second offense (up to 6 years) and a Class C felony on a third or subsequent offense (3 to 10 years), and § 5-16-101(c)(1)(C) makes it a Class C felony on any offense where the victim is under fourteen.

Can I sue someone for illegally recording me in Arkansas?

Yes, but Arkansas has no state statutory civil cause of action for illegal recording. Section 5-60-120 is criminal-only. Arkansas plaintiffs typically file under federal ECPA at 18 U.S.C. § 2520, which provides statutory damages of $100 per day or $10,000 (whichever is greater), plus actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. A common-law intrusion-upon-seclusion claim under Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5 (1984), is the companion state-law theory.

Are Ring doorbells and nanny cams legal in Arkansas?

Outdoor cameras pointed at a sidewalk, driveway, or porch are generally lawful because that area is not a 'private area out of public view' under § 5-16-101. Audio capture from the same device is governed by § 5-60-120: if the device records conversations of guests or service workers without any party's consent, that can be a violation. Cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms, or other private spaces are Class D felony video voyeurism.

Can I record at a city council or school board meeting in Arkansas?

Yes. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-106 (the Sunshine Law provision) and Act 310 of 2021 together give you an express statutory right to photograph, video-record, and audio-record open public meetings. Public bodies must retain a meeting recording for at least one year under § 25-19-106(d)(2). A public body that bars recording faces mandamus in circuit court and potential fee-shifting under § 25-19-107.

Can I record on-duty police in Arkansas?

You can in principle, but the Eighth Circuit has not clearly established a First Amendment right to record police on a public sidewalk. In Molina v. City of St. Louis, 59 F.4th 334 (8th Cir. 2023), cert. denied sub nom. Molina v. Book, 144 S. Ct. 558 (2024), the court granted qualified immunity on First Amendment retaliation claims. Stand at a reasonable distance, do not interfere, comply with lawful step-back orders, and pair any First Amendment claim with a Fourth Amendment claim where the facts support it.

Can my employer record me in Arkansas?

An Arkansas employer can record audio in common workspaces under one-party consent if the employer is party to the conversation or a participating employee has consented. Cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms, or changing areas are Class D felony video voyeurism under § 5-16-101. Federal labor law adds a separate layer: under Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023), a blanket no-recording handbook rule is presumptively unlawful under NLRA Section 8(a)(1) unless the employer can show a narrowly tailored business justification.

Updates

Corrected the description of Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC to what the Eleventh Circuit vacated: Part III.D of the FCC's 2023 Order, which amended 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(9) with the one-to-one-consent and "logically and topically associated" restrictions.

Corrected the Arkansas FOIA criminal-penalty citation (the Class C misdemeanor for a negligent violation is Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-104, not § 25-19-107), updated the § 5-26-314 discussion and penalty rows to the current "unlawful distribution of an intimate image" offense as rewritten by Act 981 of 2025 (no harassment purpose and no relationship element, with Class D and Class C felony tiers), corrected the Class B misdemeanor fine to $1,000, clarified that § 12-6-701 is a narrow officer-death confidentiality exemption rather than the general body-camera rule, and added the § 5-16-101(c)(1)(C) Class C felony tier that applies whenever the victim is under fourteen.

Corrected two pinpoint statute citations (the harassment backstop is Ark. Code Ann. section 5-71-208, not 5-71-209; the FOIA meeting-recording retention rule is section 25-19-106(d)(2), not (c)(2)), tightened several inline statute links to section-specific sources, and added the lower Class B/Class A misdemeanor tier that applies to secretly recording a person's body under section 5-16-101(b) (as distinct from the felony tier for section 5-16-101(a)). The page's existing deepfake-statute citation (section 5-14-139) was independently re-verified against the enacted Act text and confirmed correct as written.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Reviewed and approved by an editor

Restructure: Rewrote the page to the standard hub format (AEO lede, KeyTakeaways, at-a-glance table, dedicated H2s, consolidated penalty table, Special Topics subsections, and an in-depth index linking all 12 sub-pages). Re-verified load-bearing facts against primary sources: § 5-60-120 one-party consent and Class A misdemeanor; § 5-16-101 Class D (1st/2nd) and Class C (3rd+) felony grading; Act 827/2025 deepfake statutes; sentencing anchors §§ 5-4-401 and 5-4-201. No fact corrections required; all statutes and case citations match verification.

Refresh: Anchored Arkansas's Class A misdemeanor under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120 (up to 1 year and a $2,500 fine, sentencing anchors at § 5-4-401(b)(1) and § 5-4-201(b)(1)) and the separate Class D / Class C felony grading for video voyeurism under § 5-16-101. Documented that Arkansas has NO statutory civil cause of action under its eavesdropping chapter (Chapter 60 is criminal-only) and routed plaintiffs to (a) federal ECPA at 18 U.S.C. § 2520 with $100 per day or $10,000 statutory damages floor plus actual, punitive, attorney fees, and equitable relief, (b) Arkansas common-law invasion of privacy under Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5, 678 S.W.2d 361 (1984), (c) the new § 5-41-211 deepfake civil cause of action for synthetic intimate imagery, and (d) § 25-19-107 FOIA enforcement against public bodies that deny meeting-recording rights. Arkansas joins Kentucky, Alabama, and Oklahoma as one-party states with no parallel state civil remedy. Added the unique Arkansas FOIA recording-rights H2: Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-106 (Sunshine Law open-meetings rule), Act 310 of 2021 (SB 194) image-capture amendment to the FOIA's 'copy' definition at § 25-19-101, the § 25-19-106(c)(2) one-year retention requirement on public bodies, and § 25-19-107 enforcement (mandamus / injunction / Class C misdemeanor for negligent violation / fee-shifting). No competitor leads with this codified citizen recording right. Added Arkansas's new comprehensive deepfake offense at Ark. Code Ann. § 5-41-211 (HB 1529 / Act 827 of 2025, signed Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders April 17, 2025; Class A misdemeanor first offense, Class D felony for any subsequent offense, plus a private right of action with actual damages and reasonable attorney fees; effective on the general 90-day-after-sine-die schedule per Arkansas Constitution amend. 7). Dropped the unverified 'Act 372 of 2023' deepfake-expansion claim and the 'Stilley v. State' fabrication; neither survives primary-law verification (Vita lesson invoked). Corrected the NCII citation to Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-314 (the prior baseline cited § 5-26-313, which is Domestic battering in the third degree); surfaced the harassment-purpose plus relationship narrowing elements and noted that § 5-26-314 does not on its face reach AI deepfake intimate content. Corrected Arkansas's body-camera framing to § 12-6-701 (the prior baseline cited § 12-6-602, which is unrelated sentencing administration); documented HB 1219 of the 2025 Regular Session withdrawn by author February 6, 2025 (no Arkansas statewide body-worn camera mandate; adoption is agency-by-agency). Added 8th Circuit divergence framing with Molina v. City of St. Louis, 59 F.4th 334 (8th Cir. 2023), reh'g en banc denied 65 F.4th 994, cert. denied sub nom. Molina v. Book, 144 S. Ct. 558 (2024) (right to observe and record police NOT clearly established), Robbins v. City of Des Moines, 984 F.3d 673 (8th Cir. 2021) (qualified immunity granted on First Amendment claims, reversed on Fourth Amendment), and Chestnut v. Wallace, 947 F.3d 1085 (8th Cir. 2020) (right to OBSERVE at a distance, NOT a stand-alone right to record). The 8th Circuit's affirmative rejection of the clearly-established framing is a stronger negative posture than circuits that have merely declined to address the question. Reframed NLRB GC 25-05 (Feb. 14, 2025) as a housekeeping rescission of prior General Counsel memoranda rather than a Boeing-era reinstatement; Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023) remains binding Board precedent. Updated FCC 24-24 (one-to-one consent rule) status to vacated by 11th Cir. Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, 127 F.4th 303 (11th Cir. 2025) (mandate April 30, 2025); removed reliance on stale 47 C.F.R. § 64.501 (deleted effective November 20, 2017 per the FCC 2017 Biennial Review at 82 Fed. Reg. 48439). Added the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. No. 119-12, signed May 19, 2025; criminalizes knowing publication of NCII including AI deepfakes; 48-hour notice-and-takedown duty for covered platforms effective May 19, 2026, just over a week from this article's update date). Replaced commercial-codifier URLs with primary-source links at arkleg.state.ar.us, courts.arkansas.gov, ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov, dps.arkansas.gov, and uscode.house.gov.

Refresh: Anchored the Class A misdemeanor under § 5-60-120 (up to 1 year, $2,500 fine; anchors § 5-4-401(b)(1) and § 5-4-201(b)(1)) and the Class D / Class C felony grading for video voyeurism under § 5-16-101. Documented that Arkansas has NO statutory civil cause of action (Chapter 60 is criminal-only) and routed plaintiffs to (a) federal ECPA at 18 U.S.C. § 2520 ($100/day or $10,000 floor plus actual, punitive, attorney fees, equitable relief), (b) common-law invasion of privacy under Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5, 678 S.W.2d 361 (1984), (c) the new §§ 5-14-139/16-118-119 deepfake causes of action, and (d) § 25-19-107 FOIA enforcement. Added the Arkansas FOIA recording-rights section: § 25-19-106 (Sunshine Law), Act 310 of 2021 (SB 194) image-capture amendment to the 'copy' definition at § 25-19-101, § 25-19-106(d)(2) one-year retention, and § 25-19-107 enforcement. Added §§ 5-14-139 and 16-118-119 (HB 1529 / Act 827 of 2025, signed April 17, 2025). Corrected NCII citation to § 5-26-314 (not § 5-26-313) and body-camera citation to § 12-6-701 (not § 12-6-602). Documented HB 1219 withdrawal (February 6, 2025). Added 8th Circuit analysis: Molina v. City of St. Louis (2023), Robbins v. City of Des Moines (2021), Chestnut v. Wallace (2020).

Added wearable recording device guidance covering AI voice recorders (Plaud) and smart glasses (Meta Ray-Bans) under Arkansas one-party consent law.

Sources and References

  1. arkleg.state.ar.us.gov
  2. arkleg.state.ar.us.gov
  3. arkleg.state.ar.us.gov
  4. courts.arkansas.gov.gov
  5. ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov.gov
  6. ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov.gov
  7. ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov.gov
  8. uscode.house.gov.gov
  9. congress.gov.gov
  10. nlrb.gov.gov
  11. ftc.gov.gov
  12. Act 981 of 2025 (HB 1967), amending Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 5-26-314, Unlawful distribution of an intimate image(arkleg.state.ar.us)
  13. Act 597 of 2021 (HB 1732), amending Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 5-16-101(c), video voyeurism penalties(arkleg.state.ar.us)
  14. Act 1994 of 2005, Sec. 413, amending Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 25-19-104 (FOIA Penalty: Class C misdemeanor for negligent violation)(arkleg.state.ar.us)
  15. Act 209 of 2009 (HB 1382), amending Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 5-4-201(b), misdemeanor fine limits(arkleg.state.ar.us)
  16. Act 531 of 2017 (HB 1236), enacting Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 12-6-701, confidentiality of records depicting a law enforcement officer's death(arkleg.state.ar.us)
  17. Act 1028 of 2019 (HB 1928), adding Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 25-19-106(d), open-meeting recording and one-year retention(arkleg.state.ar.us)
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