Are email “confidentiality clauses” binding?

Question

Sometimes, I receive emails for other people. Some of them have a clause at the bottom that says, “If you are not the intended recipient of this message, please delete it and inform the sender immediately.” But I don’t want to do that, because I have no desire to help randos who are trying to use my email - plus it could be a scam.

The way I see it, this email was simply foisted upon me, and I never agreed to anything. Do I have any obligation to delete the email or inform the sender.

(It would be a different situation if I had signed a confidentiality agreement beforehand, but that’s not what I’m asking about.)

Answer 1

No.

Assuming you aren't receiving these e-mails as a result of fraudulent or otherwise illegal conduct on your part, the First Amendment generally gives you the right to retain that message and refrain from disclosing that you've received it.

Assuming that the e-mail doesn't contain trade secrets, medical information, or other highly personal information, the First Amendment would likely give you the right to even go a step further and publicly disseminate that information if you wanted to. Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514, (2001).