Facebook, social networking website users, legal experts and politicians are all pushing back against employers' demands for username and passwords from their employees and job applicants.
Facebook has often been the target for privacy concerns for how it handles its millions of user accounts. Now the tables have turned,
and the social media giant is going public with its condemnation of companies demanding the Facebook user information from their employees.
"In recent months, we've seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people's Facebook profiles or private information," said Facebook chief privacy officer Erin Egan. "This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends. It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."
While this can be seen as a brazen act by anyone concerned about their privacy, it's a much more widespread issue than many people may realize. Here are some recent examples sited in a Wired story:
- In June 2009, the city of Bozeman, Montana caused a brouhaha when it came out that city job applications asked for usernames and passwords for the social networking site of prospective job seekers, and not just for Facebook, but Twitter, YouTube and others.
- Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union went after the Maryland Department of Corrections after it asked a Maryland man for his Facebook login information during a re-certification interview.
- A job seeker in Canada said he was asked for his Facebook username and password during an interview. When he showed his discomfort over the request, he was met with hostility from the interviewer.
"He just pretty much became defensive himself saying 'Oh, you know, if you have something to hide... we don't have to go forward in this process,'" said 28-year-old Rob MacLeod.
The practice has some legal experts concerned, saying it's a direct violation of privacy laws. Social media privacy may not be totally defined at this point, given its relatively short lifespan, but the rise in requests from employers is paving the way for legislation to draw the line.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) says he is writing a bill to outlaw the practice.
"I am very deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country," said Blumenthal.
If employers' motives are sincere, in that they want to evaluate their employees' conduct and character, why not simply ask for their screen names to look at their profiles like any other Internet user? Even this could be construed as a violation of privacy, but at least there is some moral ground to stand on for company’s looking to hire the kind of employees they desire.
