Dow Jones (via Yahoo): Merrill Bans E-Mail Sites Such as Hotmail, Yahoo Firmwide

On the advice of lawyers, Merrill Lynch began blocking its employees from outside email services including Hotmail and Yahoo. They join the growing number of companies fearing security issues, legal problems and reductions in worker productivity.

Marketers will need to pay close attention to this bandwagon. As a media planner, I look for the at-work audience for many clients to get certain demographics. Mandates like this push buyers to delve more into psychographics and usage patterns.