We would like to disable our sales reps' ability to export bulk records (ie. leads, contacts, accounts) into excel so that we can prevent them from sending mass email blasts/spam to our customers. Is there a way to disable the export function for specific
security roles?
export to excel is a privilege and can be removed from the security role. Please note that security roles are cumulative. So if a user has one role that allows him /her to export, then he will see the export button.
This can be handled via permissions as mentioned above. One other solution would be to simply hide the Export button from the Ribbon for the intended entities with a tool such as Ribbon Editor