Is Your Industry Governed by Instant Messaging Regulations?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state insurance regulators, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and other agencies regularly request copies of, and in-house access to, e-mail and other electronic records for audit or review. ^[2] Expect to start receiving requests for instant messages—if you haven’t already.

If you are unclear on which government or industry regulations govern your industry and your employees’ use of IM and e-mail, now is the time to find out. Legal, compliance, and IT professionals should work together to determine where IM and e-mail fit in your organization’s regulatory puzzle, and how a program that combines written policy, employee education, and enforcement technology (the three Es of IM risk management) can help ensure compliance and minimize costly IM-related disasters.

^[2]Ibid.