Instant Messaging Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication

All messages transmitted via the organization’s IM and e-mail systems are the property of the organization, and should be considered public information. The Company reserves the right to access and monitor all instant and e-mail messages and files on the organization’s system as deemed necessary and appropriate. Instant and e-mail messages are public, not private, communication. All IM, e-mail, and other electronic communications, including text and images, can be disclosed to law enforcement or other third parties without prior consent of the employee who sent or received the information.