Employer Demands Facebook Login From Job Applicants 434
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Alex Madrigal reports in the Atlantic that the ACLU has taken up the case of Maryland corrections officer Robert Collins, who was required to provide his Facebook login and password to the Maryland Division of Corrections during a recertification interview so the interviewer could log on to his account and read not only his postings, but those of his family and friends too. 'We live in a time when national security is the highest priority, but it must be delicately balanced with personal privacy,' says Collins. 'My fellow officers and I should not have to allow the government to view our personal Facebook posts and those of our friends, just to keep our jobs.' The ACLU of Maryland has sent a letter to Public Safety Secretary Gary Maynard (PDF) concerning the Division of Correction's blanket requirement that applicants for employment with the division, as well as current employees undergoing recertification, provide the government with their social media account usernames and personal passwords for use in employee background checks. After three weeks the ACLU has received no response."
I have to applaud the ACLU... (Score:4, Insightful)
Balance? (Score:5, Insightful)
"We live in a time when national security is the highest priority, but it must be delicately balanced with personal privacy"
Calling it a delicate balance is a sleazy way of excusing any violations by suggesting that it's such a difficult fine line that nobody could be expected to do the right thing, all the time. There is no delicate balance. Personal privacy and liberty must always trump security, for without privacy and liberty, there's nothing worth securing. There's no point in protecting a bank vault that has already been looted of everything.
Also. A corrections officer in a prison. Hardly in a position to be trading secrets with Iran or Osama.
Re:Deactivate the account? (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were the employee, I'd use Facebook's activation feature to temporarily remove my account from the system. "What account? Facebook? Don't have one."
Well, you'd be out of a job if your employer finds a cached copy of your Facebook page in Google, for instance. Would you want to risk that?
Re:Balance? (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't a case of "delicate balance." It's a sickening abuse.
He's a corrections officer, not some top-level CIA gumshoe!
Breaking the Law (Score:2, Insightful)
Terms and Conditions, 4.8: "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."
So to keep your job, you have to break the law?
And am I the only one hearing Judas Priest in my head now? :-)
Re:Facebook TOS says you may not share password (Score:5, Insightful)
TOS may not be the main problem. I would think that this is also a federal crime "Intentionally accessing a computer without authorization to obtain: ...
Information from any protected computer if the conduct involves an interstate or foreign communication" and "Knowingly and with the intent to defraud, trafficking in a password or similar information through which a computer may be accessed without authorization" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
It is about time that the FBI starts to investigate, and clears up this nest of computer crime! :-)
Re:So, have two accounts? (Score:2, Insightful)
False dillema (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I have to applaud the ACLU... (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of people have the opinion that the ACLU is only about shutting down the speech of Christians/Whites/Men/*insert majority group here.
A lot of people also voluntarily subject themselves to media outlets that flood them with propaganda that tells them that ACLU, liberals, democrats, and muslims all do hate and undermine Christians, Whites, men, and American values.
A lot of people are clueless, lied to, misinformed, confused or just outright ignorant. Their views frequently don't match reality, but that doesn't stop politicians from catering to their whims.
As an example of how out of touch with reality some people are, in 2009, a Pew Research Poll that was conducted in order to study perceived media bias actually found that 14% of people though that Fox News was mostly liberal. How could someone even come up with such a conclusion? Are these people so far to the right that even Fox looks liberal to them? Have they just never seen it? Or maybe they believe Fox's own propaganda that all news media is liberal, and assume it means them too.
However, back to the main point, the ACLU is about protecting people's rights and isn't taking religious sides. They have also defended free speech of Christians when that speech was challenged as being too hostile toward muslims or gays. The ACLU has even sided with those who protested against the ACLU!
http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/ [aclufights...stians.com]
And sure, a lot of people don't acknowledge this or care, but a lot of people also suffer from confirmation bias [wikipedia.org]
Re:This is why I don't use facebook (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it's plainly obvious that you're not actually responsible for hiring anyone.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is why I don't use facebook (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have a Facebook account, you've already failed my job interview. You can't be trusted to make intelligent decisions with data, so you don't need to work at this organization.
If you're too close-minded to use the latest in communication tools or too weak-minded not to share anything private, I'd hate to work for you. Also I'd hate to see if the technology you use for your servers is gerbil-powered. It's a tool like anything else. For some people, it's to feed their narcissism. For others, it's just another way to stay in touch. If I have nephews and nieces all over the country, do I rely on snail mail or email (if they bother to write to me personally)? Or do I just rely on FB. Remember, I may not post very often or about anything particularly private about myself but I can keep up with those that do..
Re:This is why I don't use facebook (Score:5, Insightful)
So basically, to work at that correctional facility you MUST show that you are ready, willing and able to break past agreements that you have made and will continue to make in the future (every time you access Facebook).
Nice to see that they want honest people guarding those who are incarcerated.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=101063233083&topic=15948&post=110792#!/terms.php
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
This Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ("Statement") derives from the Facebook Principles, and governs our relationship with users and others who interact with Facebook. By using or accessing Facebook, you agree to this Statement.
# Registration and Account Security
Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account:
1. You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
2. You will not create more than one personal profile.
3. If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.
4. You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).
5. You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.
6. You will not use Facebook if you are a convicted sex offender.
7. You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.
8. 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.
9. You will not transfer your account (including any page or application you administer) to anyone without first getting our written permission.
10. If you select a username for your account we reserve the right to remove or reclaim it if we believe appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).
Re:This is why I don't use facebook (Score:4, Insightful)
the fact you knowingly allow someone else to continue using your name online would make
me wonder if i really want you working for me. you seem 'irresponsible' in employer speak.
Not always an option to not use facebook (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Not always an option to not use facebook (Score:4, Insightful)
Anybody that has facebook also has an email address. What's wrong with using that?
Re:This is why I don't use facebook (Score:5, Insightful)
Na, Geocities was much cooler. It had dark corners and silent backwaters, nobody used his real name, and the company didn't constantly try to steal your data or lock you into their money making scheme.
Re:Facebook TOS says you may not share password (Score:5, Insightful)
This fails to fall under the typical terms of duress
"Do X or you lose your job" isn't duress?
Re:Privacy is so 20th century. (Score:4, Insightful)
They shouldn't. However, they have every (and should have every) -right- to ask.
I disagree with you, and you're not seeing the bigger picture here.
... and hire me. Or don't. But keep your sticky paws off my privacy. How I present myself to you, as an employer, what information I choose to give you, is up to me. If you later find out that I lied, you can fire my ass, but you are absolutely not entitled to rifle through my private life, no matter how much you might like to do so.
In any event, I wouldn't be so sure that they automatically have that right. The fact is, there are many things that an employer cannot ask a job applicant. Religion, sexual orientation, and political affiliation are a few that are generally prohibited. So far as I'm concerned, if a company cannot ask someone if they are straight or gay, they sure as Hell shouldn't be allowed to ask for their Facebook password. Or their email account, or their bank account, or anything else along those lines (and if you think it will stop with social networking, you're naive, I'm afraid.) I'm of the opinion that employers should be barred from any such investigation of candidates: would you want to be judged by the contents of your Facebook page (or the contents of the Facebook pages of your family and friends?) Think about that for a moment, and then tell me that employers should have any rights whatsoever in this regard.
If your job is so sensitive that your resume and references are insufficient (and I might that that only a tiny, tiny fraction of the job market is so critical) then let them pay for a background check.
What they are trying to do, when you get right down to it, is an end run around the relevant labor and anti-discrimination laws using information from social networking sites. If you happen to be gay, or a Jehovah's Witness, or a Tea Party member, would you want a potential employer trolling your Facebook account? The law says such attributes are none of their business, and cannot be used to make a hiring decision. But you also know that if that information is made available to employers, they will most certainly use it. But, if it's illegal to do so anyway, why should they have access to it in the first place? Any company that even asks for your social networking account info just tipped you off to the fact that they do not respect their workers. Keep looking.
You want to know what kind of a worker I am, read my resume, contact my references
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:You dont need *that* job that bad.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like a crappy way to lose the retirement benefits you earned...
Just like employment piss tests (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing to do is apply for jobs when you have one (ideally), and refuse piss tests when asked. If enough people start turning down jobs for that reason, it will go away.
But America will have to grow some balls, first.
Look somewhere else for work. (Score:4, Insightful)
I personally don't use Facebook because it's unknown where the direction of the company is going to go, and they seem to be very aggressive about their use of the data. Don't trust them. It's that simple.
I know many people that do. Of those people, I know plenty that had bad experiences, and plenty that had good ones too. I personally wouldn't judge somebody on a Facebook account, because the use cases are all over the map.
That's what good interview skills are all about. Christ, if they can't do a good read on the person they have DIRECT and IMMEDIATE access to, perhaps it's time to get some education, instead of falling back on shitty things like asking for the keys to people's personal lives.
To me, this shit is all self-correcting. Anybody that makes a mess of their lives on Facebook will probably only get to work in the fucked up places where that shit doesn't matter. Fine by me. Employers who turn to the Internet in abusive ways to get advantage over their employees are not worth working for either.
People tend to sort themselves out over time. No worries here.
The best thing is to just manage your life, and your employment opportunities and think things over before you do them. Shutting some doors that you never, ever plan to walk through isn't too big of a deal. Not sure? Then be conservative about it, until you are. Most of it is all that simple.