A public relations representative for the Afghanistani Taliban militant movement accidentally CC’d all addresses on the organization’s mailing list to subscribers, including prominent journalists, academics and local politicians, Fast Company reported, making the list public.
Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, an official representative for the movement, accidentally used CC: instead of BCC: on a mass Taliban communication.
“First of all, if your employer is the Taliban, then a misdirected email is probably the least of your problems,” quipped David Weissman, RLG employment law arttorney. “Seriously, though, this story raises a good point about email usage in the workplace. Every employer should a have a clear and comprehensive electronic communications usage policy in place that informs employees, among other things, that all emails via the company’s email system are company property and employees should have no expectation of privacy in those emails,” Weissman said. The policy should advise employees, he said, that all emails must be professional, courteous, non-offensive and non-harassing.
“The fact of the matter is that emails will occasionally be sent inadvertently to the wrong recipient. The goal should be to minimize the risk that any such misdirected emails will cause embarrassment or even legal liability for the company.”
