Final answer:
Court cases have shown that business email is considered the property of the employer. State and federal laws, including intellectual property laws, protect personal data and the rights of copyright owners. Users should differentiate between professional and personal email communications to protect their privacy and comply with legal and company policies.
Step-by-step explanation:
In regard to legal issues about ownership of electronic communication systems, court cases have indicated that email is a property of the email account holder's employer when it pertains to a business email account. For personal emails, while users may assume a degree of privacy, they must also be aware that once an email is sent, it can potentially be forwarded or shared without their consent, leading to a loss of control over the information. In the professional realm, companies often implement policies that establish company emails and their contents as the company's property, thus employees should maintain a separation between their professional and personal email communications to protect their privacy and adhere to company policies.
Moreover, both state and federal laws work to protect people's intellectual property, including electronic data. Acts like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) ensure a level of control over personal information collected online, especially concerning minors. Additionally, copyright law provides exclusive rights to copyright owners and is a part of the broader intellectual property law, which also encompasses patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, to safeguard the ownership over ideas and concepts rather than physical property.