This essay explores legal and ethical issues related to electronic mail (e-mail) systems in the United States and Canada. Among the recommendations made, based on analysis of actual cases, are: better education in computer-telecommunications technologies should be provided for government officials to enable them to make and uphold appropriate laws concerning electronic mail; clear published policies, consistent with the law and with the professional ethics of users, should be developed for e-mail systems; access to up-to-date legal information should be available to computer system operators and those who employ them; and ongoing monitoring of legal and ethical issues related to computer-telecommunications technologies (and applications such as e-mail) is needed to maximize the democratic potential of the Information Age.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>