The Associated Press reports that there is a new trend developing in the business world, with job applicants being asked “to reveal their Facebook passwords so their prospective employers can check their backgrounds.”
The story notes that “Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities. The social networking company is also threatening legal action against those who violate its long-standing policy against sharing passwords.”
At the same time, Sen. Charles Schumer (D- New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) have asked for an investigation into the practice by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Justice.
The story notes that “Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities. The social networking company is also threatening legal action against those who violate its long-standing policy against sharing passwords.”
At the same time, Sen. Charles Schumer (D- New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) have asked for an investigation into the practice by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Justice.
- KC's View:
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This is a crock.
Employers have no business requesting personal passwords. None. It violates people’s privacy, and it is just generally unwise.
That said, potential employees need to show a certain level of maturity and intelligence about what they post online. Once you get to be a certain age, you have to assume that a potential employer might see everything you post.
But just because some potential employees are stupid and immature does not justify an invasion of privacy.
