Employers Asking for Facebook Passwords?

[LordKOTL]

http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-warns-employers-not-demand-passwords-141726769.html



I've been following this topic for a couple of weeks now and am intrested to hear other opinions on it: How far should employers be able to go when it comes to social media? Should an employer be able to require a facebook password? Should an employee need to "friend" their supervisors? Should social media be a factor in someone's employment?



Personally, I think that social media is just an extension of one's interaction with the world. In that vein, it can be compartmentalized into public and private compartments. Before social media, There were things you just discussed and informed friends about, and other things that you just didn't care if everyone knew. This really hasn't changed--only the method of interaction has. And in that vein, I think that the treatment of social media has a precedent in real life--what was the norm before Facebook should be the norm after Facebook.



Not everyone before Facebook were "friends" with their supervisors: not everyone hangs out or gets all buddy-buddy with them and shares information that is mildly personal to very personal. As such, taking that precedent, I don't think it should be required to "friend" your employer, nor should it be a condition of your employment. Further, I believe the EEOC prohibits Race, Religion, Age, Gender, Sexual orientation, etc. to be a factor in employment. As such, "friending" a supervisor (even before employment) gives them access to this information. Now, sure, stuff like Race and Gender can be readily apparent, but if an employer cannot ask is you're straight or not, or if you're a Christian or not, you should not be required to "friend" them and give them access to this information unless you want to.



And for the last point on giving a prospective employer your facebook password. No, this should be prohibited if not from an angle that could be construed as an overly-aggressive background check, but from an identity protection angle. Having done some work in IT, I can safely say that you will get my passwords when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.



As far as I'm concerned, all an employter could, should, and is legally able know is already avaliable through public record. They have no reason or rights to blur the line between anyone's public and private life.

 

[supraman]

They have no right to it. Period. They should only legally be allowed to see what you set to public, if it is all private, tough shit. Friending my boss, well unless they are actually a friend of mine, hell no. What I do in my off time is simply not the business of the company I work for. I can see this heading to court if it hasn't already. 4th amendment violation, illegal search. Then the argument will be made about what part of facebook is public and private domain and I see the judge siding with privacy.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Which organizations/employers are demanding this? I read the article, and it was rather vague on who was asking for passwords.

 

[LordKOTL]

^^^That was the only thing that has escaped me on it. Which corporations/companies--at least so those of us who belive in some individual freedom can boycott them.



Following this story on Yahoo and other sites, I know this issue exisits since some of them comments from "Employers" as they call themselves keep commenting that they should have the right to find out if pontential employees are drug users or engage in "unsavory" behaviors. Really, what part of those are either public record or info that an employer is not privy to? My frosted side also thinks that a portion of people claiming this, in the need for a paycheck, also have some non-disclosure agreements and would risk losing their income if they spilled the beans.



At my company, they've tried to cash in on both internal and external social networks, and I am friends with one co-worker whom I have hung out with personally in the past and consider a freind (I've since relocated to a different office). But really, from my level i'm not "required" to be friends with my employer.



While this might not be as huge as the article is letting on, I think it is happening when it shouldn't be.

 

[jakobeast]

To me, if a prospective employer wants my passwords to whatever, it is pretty obvious I don't want to work there.



I don't have a facebook page, would that automatically disqualify me from being employed at that company?

 

[LordKOTL]

To me, if a prospective employer wants my passwords to whatever, it is pretty obvious I don't want to work there.

Pretty much my thoughts on the issue. Conversely, I can smell a major lawsuit and possible ACLU involvement if a *current* employer asks for passwords.



I don't have a facebook page, would that automatically disqualify me from being employed at that company?

That has been a question. Some "Employer" comments on the stories have said that an employee without a social media page shouldn't be considered hireable because they would consider them afraid of new technology. funny thing is the responces to those comments were from people who've been in IT for years and see no reason to get/maintain a social networking profile.

 

[BigPete]

Any HR person that thinks this is a good idea is a fucking jackass. What are they going to do next, follow you to a bar on a Friday night and evesdrop on your conversations to see what your political leanings are and if you desparage your current employer?



This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of and if it is not explicitly illegal, it is really damn close and probably should be.



DON'T GIVE YOUR PASSWORD TO ANYONE, EVER!

 

[BigPete]

Which organizations/employers are demanding this? I read the article, and it was rather vague on who was asking for passwords.

I don't have a list, but it sounds like there are quite a few asking for this. It is supposedly becoming a trend, not a single occassion.

 

[jakobeast]

I could see the ACLU going after this as well.



I am not afraid of new technology, I just don't care to get and maintain a facebook page. The people from my past I still want to talk to and interact with I do. I do have a Twitter acccount, and if an employer wants the password, they can fuck right off. They can request to follow me, but the do so with the knowledge that I can unfollow them at anytime, and anything they see on there is none of their business and doesn't effect them personally or in the business world.





Come to think of it, how bout I just shit on your desk right now, you give me severance, and we will call it a day.











There is a Jako Fan facebook page. I do not maintain it, nor do I know the password. I only see it once in a while when one of the administrators shows it to me.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I had to "de-friend" my boss at my job due to her unprofessional behavior regarding my medical condition-- I have very frequent issues with kidney stones. One instance I had to be rushed to the hospital. While waiting for my painkillers to set in, I logged into facebook on my laptop that my wife brought me (might as well do something).

I had to film an event that evening-- which my boss had to do because I was in the ER. She saw I was online, became very irate/vocal, and complained to one of my coworkers, and it eventually got back to me. I de-friended her immediately due to her inability to not act rationally-- and I felt that she wasn't acting professionally as my supervisor. I also felt that any opinions I stated online could be used against me if she became irrational again.



A week later, she walked into my office wondering why I de-friended her (anyone that has seen the Facebook South Park can relate). I told her that being friends with her on a social media site was unprofessional, and I left it at that. She began to cry.

What. The. Fuck?

 

[supraman]

Any HR person that thinks this is a good idea is a fucking jackass. What are they going to do next, follow you to a bar on a Friday night and evesdrop on your conversations to see what your political leanings are and if you desparage your current employer?



This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of and if it is not explicitly illegal, it is really damn close and probably should be.



DON'T GIVE YOUR PASSWORD TO ANYONE, EVER!

Hey Pete, can I have your IHN password?

 

[Bringmepie]

Like the article states, it's just a bad idea for an employer to ask for that sort of information. I'd really hope that a large employer would know better and that the only ones dumb enough to do that are small places with bad, overly controlling management, and like Jako said you should question whether you really want to work there (easier said than done when in a bad job market).



The thought of someone making hiring decisions based on whether an applicant even has a FB/Google +/Linked In account is a little scary too, as if you're a potential unibomber if you don't use a social site or that if you don't have 300+ "friends" on it then you're just not social enough or "hep" to the modern technology of today. What if they don't even stalk/spy on the right account? Not only do I have a really common last name but my first name can also be a surname so there's hundreds of people out there with Facebook accounts under the same or similar name. What if they find out I'm a friend of IHN, does that make me guilty or unemployable by association with you lot?

 

[Bringmepie]

I had to "de-friend" my boss at my job due to her unprofessional behavior regarding my medical condition-- I have very frequent issues with kidney stones. One instance I had to be rushed to the hospital. While waiting for my painkillers to set in, I logged into facebook on my laptop that my wife brought me (might as well do something).

I had to film an event that evening-- which my boss had to do because I was in the ER. She saw I was online, became very irate/vocal, and complained to one of my coworkers, and it eventually got back to me. I de-friended her immediately due to her inability to not act rationally-- and I felt that she wasn't acting professionally as my supervisor. I also felt that any opinions I stated online could be used against me if she became irrational again.



A week later, she walked into my office wondering why I de-friended her (anyone that has seen the Facebook South Park can relate). I told her that being friends with her on a social media site was unprofessional, and I left it at that. She began to cry.

What. The. Fuck?

I had a boss who overstepped his personal bounds, it was like "laugh at the boss' bad jokes or else" to a creepy extreme. My cubical was next to his and he would attempt to bond by placing his nick nacks on the cubical so that they would hang over the ledge onto my cube, like a shared experience or something. For example, he put one of these up on the shared cubical wall...

...eventually, when he wasn't there people started to ask me why I had decorated my cube with a pickle, because they wouldn't dare ask that when the boss was around. I finally asked him to move the damn thing over to his cube because it was getting distracting and he pouted like I took away his lollipop or something. Our office outlawed styro-foam cups except for visitors to the office, he tried to give me one of his own used mugs. "Um, that's okay, I'll just buy my own personal mug, thanks." I was like, what's next? Your class ring and letter jacket? I mean the guy was married and had two small kids so it wasn't that.



It was like he had a deep need to be one of the cool kids or something.

 

[LordKOTL]

^^^That's my take as well. My facebook page is for keeping connections with friends since they tend to be spread out across the globe. It's not meant to be my gateway into my professional world and I do have a very fine distiction between my personal and professional life.



Hell, In my case, I maried a foreign woman. You know that there are many jingo americans out there that don't want a thing to do with anyone not born and bred in the good 'ol USA. Am I an unfit employee for that? Or, what if the hirning manager is a late 30-something woman with the personality of a sewage pump that finds it an affront that I found someone overseas rather than "a perfectly good american woman"?



And IHN as well. The closest Hockeytown to Portland is Vancouver (even though there is a good portion of 'blackhawks fans here). Am I disqualified because I like the Blackhawks?



The point of that ramble is that per the EEOC there are only certain criteria that can to be considered for a prospetive employee, mainly their ability to do said job and their ability to function in the environment the job demands (i.e. playing well with others). Access to facebook--especially in a bully-tactic in a down economy is an end-run around that IMHO.



Oh, and the ACLU is getting involved:



http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-22/tech/tech_social-media_facebook-password-employers_1_facebook-password-aclu-facebook-facebook-s-terms?_s=PM:TECH

 

[TSD]

I am one of those people that most definitely likes to keep work and my social life as two separate entities. Over the course of 5 years with my current employer I have friended 4 co-workers, but they we of similar age and level and I've actually hung out with them socially. Alot of people seem to friend everyone they come in contact with. I literally can't because I refuse to censor myself. Im sure if I friended my boss and im dropping F-bombs left and right, having Special person conversations with TCD. That wouldnt reflect well. If I friended authority figures from work, that would essentially render me having a facebook pointless.

 

[BigPete]

Hey Pete, can I have your IHN password?

Sure: E@+_m!_@$$

 

[IceHogsFan]

If you are dumb enough to give your password to anyone then you get what you deserve.



Also, if you are dumb enough to post stupid #$%^ about yourself that can self incriminating on a public forum, then you get what you deserve.



And if, you don't know how to lock your stuff down like on FB then you get what you deserve.





And I do know employers that run credit checks on possible employees just like they search all of the available and commonly used social forums to see what you do, say or others have posted of you. If you are dumb enough to do it publicly or have it shared publicly then you get what you deserve.

 

[R K]

Just wait until Facebook, with an endless supply of Cash, starts suing them. Which they've already threatened. Which will be the first company that can't keep up with the Law suit.

 

[Rex]

apparently the right to privacy does not extend to the internet. Only a matter of time before companies want to go into your email too, hell, why not look at my online banking statements too?

 

[LordKOTL]

Just wait until Facebook, with an endless supply of Cash, starts suing them. Which they've already threatened. Which will be the first company that can't keep up with the Law suit.

Not sure, but I do hope it sets a good precedent up.

If you are dumb enough to give your password to anyone then you get what you deserve.



Also, if you are dumb enough to post stupid #$%^ about yourself that can self incriminating on a public forum, then you get what you deserve.



And if, you don't know how to lock your stuff down like on FB then you get what you deserve.





And I do know employers that run credit checks on possible employees just like they search all of the available and commonly used social forums to see what you do, say or others have posted of you. If you are dumb enough to do it publicly or have it shared publicly then you get what you deserve.

I don't think anyone is arguing that you should share anything of that level with anyone. I think the distasteful part is that it's being reported (according to my last CNN link) that it's implied as a condition of employment. I think in terms of social media where there is a division of privacy (such as Facebook, where you can have pictures, events, status updates, etc.) that if the division is there, you have the right to take full advantage of it and keep that portion only open to people you see fit.



After all, it's not like the company will provide me with the access to the account balance sheet and financial records so that I can ensure I'm working for a legitimate firm, right?