The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) told its
members on Wednesday that use of instant messaging (IM) by
employees must be supervised, or else banned by member firms, and
records of all IM communications must be held for three years.
The NASD reasons that instant messages sent to clients carry the
same weight and obligations as e-mails and must be treated
accordingly.
The NASD, the private-sector provider of financial regulatory
services, in its notice to members, also cautioned that IM
communications must not violate rules governing sales literature
and correspondence.
IM can pose supervisory and record keeping challenges. Consumer
versions of IM do not always provide business users with tools to
monitor or archive IM communication. Many securities firms have
therefore determined that they cannot adequately supervise IM
communications and have banned the use of IM for communication with
the public.
The advisory warns members to evaluate IM according to the
"content and audience" of the communications. NASD members must
supervise the use of IM the same way they currently do for written
and electronic communications.
