Privacy red flag raised as more job applicants asked to turn over Facebook passwords

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Manuel Valdes and Shannon McFarland - The Associated Press


SEATTLE — When Justin Bassett interviewed for a job, he was stunned when the interviewer asked for something more than his experience and references: his Facebook username and password.

The New York statistician had finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to peruse his Facebook page. Because she couldn't see his private profile, she asked him for his login information.

Bassett refused and withdrew his application. But other job candidates are confronting the same question, and some can't afford to say "no."

"It's akin to requiring someone's house keys," said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor who calls it "an egregious privacy violation."

Companies that don't ask for passwords to vet applicants have taken other steps — such as asking applicants to "friend" human-resource managers.

Asking for a candidate's password is more prevalent among agencies seeking to fill law enforcement positions.

In 2010, Robert Collins was returning to his job as a correctional officer at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services after taking a leave following his mother's death. During a reinstatement interview, he was asked for his login and password, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. He was stunned but complied. "I needed my job to feed my family," he said.

After the ACLU complained about the practice, the agency amended its policy, asking instead for job applicants to log in during interviews.

[RBP]

that's bullshit

[Acid Trip]

Interviewer: Do you have a Facebook account?

Me: No

Interview: Why Not?

Me: Because only an idiot would post their life and all their friends/families lives onto a server they do not own, have no control over, and has a user agreement along the lines of "anything you upload here goes onto our servers and therefore becomes our property".

Interviewer: You're hired!

[Teh One Who Knocks]

If I was at a job interview and someone asked me for personal login information to any account I have, I would tell them sure, as soon as you give me your login info for your bank account.

[Acid Trip]

If I was at a job interview and someone asked me for personal login information to any account I have, I would tell them sure, as soon as you give me your login info for your bank account.

Most companies that check your Facebook only ask that you become friends with someone in HR (or the corporate account) so they can look around.

[Muddy]

Big brother is watching...

[Yt Trash]

My wife works in HR, I'll ask her company policy on this.

[Pony]

Facebooks response to this:

Facebook speaks out against employers asking for passwords

By Doug Gross, CNN

(CNN) -- Facebook has weighed in on a practice by some businesses asking employees or job applicants for their passwords to the popular social-media site.

In a nutshell? Facebook says don't do it unless you want to get sued.

"This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends," Erin Egan, the site's chief privacy officer, wrote Friday on the site's Facebook and Privacy Page. "It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."

Egan said that Facebook has seen a "distressing increase" in reports of job candidates being asked for their passwords over the past few months. She notes the practice violates not just the user's privacy but also that of his or her Facebook friends.

It also might violate employment laws, according to the post.

"(W)e don't think it's right the thing to do," she said. "But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating. For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don't hire that person."

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union spoke out against the practice. The group said they've gotten multiple reports of people either being asked for their passwords or required to "friend" managers when they were applying for jobs.

Robert Collins of the Baltimore area testified before the Maryland Legislature in February that he was trying to reapply for his corrections officer job after taking a leave of absence when he was told he needed to hand over his password to prove he had no gang affiliations.

"I did not want to do it, but because I really needed my job and he implied that this was a condition of recertification, I reluctantly gave him the password," he told Maryland lawmakers, who are considering outlawing the practice.

In her post, Egan said that Facebook will consider going to court if it hears of the practice continuing.

"Facebook takes your privacy seriously," she wrote. " We'll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges."

It is already against Facebook's terms of service to share a password.

"You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account," the agreement reads.