‘ If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately’

‘do not use, copy or disclose the information or otherwise use it or any part of it in any form whatsoever nor act in reliance on it’

I still see hundreds of these pointless footers and it bugs me, wastes space, and takes up paper and ink when I print things.

The economist is succinct - “Many disclaimers are, in effect, seeking to impose a contractual obligation unilaterally, and thus are probably unenforceable. This is clear in Europe, where a directive from the European Commission tells the courts to strike out any unreasonable contractual obligation on a consumer if he has not freely negotiated it.”

If you do want to send something sensitive, remember that an email is about as secure as a postcard, and then use safedrop or some sort of encryption. 

(via techland)