ELECTRONIC MESSAGE FORWARDING CONTROL

Systems and methods are disclosed that control whether a recipient of an electronic message (e.g., text messages, multimedia messages, email messages, etc) is allowed to forward the electronic message to third parties. When an electronic message is created or selected for transmission to a recipient, a forwarding control indicator is included in the electronic message. The forwarding control indicator indicates whether this electronic message is allowed to be forwarded by the recipient. If the recipient of the electronic message subsequently attempts to forward the electronic message, then the forwarding control indicator is processed to determine if the electronic message is allowed to be forwarded. If a determination is made that the electronic message is not allowed to be forwarded to the third party, then the electronic message is prevented from being forwarded to the third party. If a determination is made that the electronic message is allowed to be forwarded to the third party, then the electronic message is allowed to be forwarded to the third party.