The Consumerist: We weren't the only ones shocked to find out that employers have been asking job applicants or in some cases, actual workers, for the passwords to their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts. Facebook has issued a statement addressing that practice, calling it "alarming."
Friday, March 23, 2012
Facebook Agrees: Employers Should Definitely Not Be Asking For Your Passwords
The Consumerist: We weren't the only ones shocked to find out that employers have been asking job applicants or in some cases, actual workers, for the passwords to their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts. Facebook has issued a statement addressing that practice, calling it "alarming."
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6 comments:
AWKWARD. I'm failing to understand how an employer even comes to bringing that issue up to a prospective or current employee. "Now, your credentials seem great, but I'll just need your Facebook password," or "Now, you've been working hard and doing well here, but I'll just need your Facebook password so I can know what happens when I'm not around." First off, as an employee, I would not stand for that, if I even knew how to react to it. Work lives and personal lives are separate, and employers have no right to mesh the two together. An employee should be judged specifically by how they perform while at work, not by what they do on their own time. As for prospectives, there are easier and more legitimate ways to gather what you need to know without asking for social networking passwords.
I AGREE- this is insanity!! Why and how is this ever even an acceptable question to ask someone? I can almost slightly understand an employer curiously wishing to see an employee's facebook wall, but why password? Does the boss need to personally pretend to be you online to prove that you are a loyal worker and dependable promoter for the company? Really? Because this is so uncomfortably intriguing. I think that whatever employer who asks you for a facebook, social network, or even email account password is not one you should be working for. I would to be stunned if I were ever asked to give my password to facebook, email, even cell phone password lock.
This is so disgusting. Why is any information that is not public on facebook relevant to employers? Employers would never ask to go to your mailbox and read your mail. And who would ever say yes? Facebook has private e-mail and chat features and what is said privately is nobody else's business. Who even has time to strip employees of their privacy to this extent? That's a really idiotic waste of time for a company. This type of personal invasion hasn't been done in the past - why is it necessary now? It isn't, it's just appalling.
How awful that someone would be put in the position of feeling they had to give up their privacy in order to get a job. Lord knows there are many people that are desperate for jobs right now, and it is not fair that some of them may not have gotten jobs because they were standing up for their right to privacy. I am glad to see that Facebook is taking a stand on this issue. I would not be surprised if this issues grows to the point where Facebook has to take legal action. It is probably not easy to find and track all of the companies who are violating this rule, but hopefully Facebook can get some help in the matter by raising awareness that they know about the issue and will not stand for it. This will probably lead to some complicated court cases, but there is certainly precedent out there from other privacy rights violations that can be interpreted so that it applies to this technology-age issue. This is an unfortunate reminder that technology brings with it some unique dangers, and that we should all be careful about what we have on the internet and who we share it with.
it is great to see support from this social media giant. It is outrageous for any employer to ask such a personal piece of information as this. There is no reason for any employer to need a person's password to their private account. any information that an employer need be worried about can be found in some way online already. there is no reason to need a password that is like a potential employer asking for my house keys so he can come by and check my mail before he is willing to hire me. Im not trying to advocate Facebook as an essential piece of someone's identity but it is in fact a persons private property no different then their email, or home
I can't believe I just read that! How can that even be legal? There are certain questions that employers aren't allowed to ask so how can this be appropriate? Why would your hiring of a job be based on your facebook information anyway? Your resume, skills, experience and personality are what should be judged. I don't know that I would work for someone that asked for my password. It seems a little creepy. I like that facebook is taking a stance on this but not sure if it will sway those that want to ask for it.
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