Job seeker balks at request to provide Facebook login

lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
edited March 2012 in A Moving Train
Job seeker balks at request to provide Facebook login

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20 ... z1pfpUoAoy

Would anyone give an potential employer access? I wouldn't!!! Any employer that wants to get into my personal life that much ain't worth working for. Not surprised though...
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    that's pretty brutal ... what is even more tragic is that people are giving up their civil liberties because of the poor job market ...
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    Can't job applicants just say that they don't have an account?
  • I'd be like, "dude, if you wanna see pictures of my naked, just Google my first name."

    Fuck no, you can't have my Facebook login information. My personal life is my personal life. And it's not just my personal information, people send me private messages with THEIR personal information or things about their private life.

    And no job is worth that.

    I clearly haven't got much to hide, I've been in adult movies and shown my goodies to everyone who wants to see it. I talk about a lot of very personal stuff but NOBODY gets unlimited access to it.
  • JTHJTH Chicago Posts: 3,238
    Cripes. Do you have to submit to a full body-cavity search when you check in with the receptionist?
  • redrockredrock Posts: 18,341
    Guess they could say they don't have an account but, from the example in the article, it would seem the interviewer was searching to find him, found him but couldn't access as it was private. So unless you go under an alias in Facebook, you're stuffed (in some places)!

    I find this really scary - nothing left private. Also, not does this violate your privacy but also the privacy of your friends on facebook. I know they say they look for certain major things (like the inappropriate relationship issue) but I bet they fine-comb everything.

    "Volunteering is coercion if you need a job,", as it's stated in the article. People may give in with this request but it's not really voluntarily, is it? I'm mortified at this.
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    redrock wrote:
    Guess they could say they don't have an account but, from the example in the article, it would seem the interviewer was searching to find him, found him but couldn't access as it was private. So unless you go under an alias in Facebook, you're stuffed (in some places)!

    But what if your account in unsearchable? There's no way a prospective employer could find you on FB if your account is not searchable.
  • redrockredrock Posts: 18,341
    Jeanwah wrote:

    But what if your account in unsearchable? There's no way a prospective employer could find you on FB if your account is not searchable.

    You can see how ignorant I am - I didn't know you could make them unsearcheable. :oops:

    In that guess I guess you can say you don't have an account. I don't know many people who don't but I do know a few.
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    i would contact the aclu and be lawyering up, because i am sure that this is some sort of a breach of the 4th amendment.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    lying isn't going to get anyone anywhere ... aliases and unsearchable will only get you so far ...

    the real issue here is that no employer should be given access to anyone's private information
  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    what a joke... can they ask you to see all of your text messages and all of the pictures on your phone too?

    We had to sign a social networking agree where I work (in an arena), basically saying that you can't post industry related stuff online or non-public photos (backstage stuff) or info, etc...

    I don't mind that... And really, they couldn't really enforce it unless a co-worker turned you in, because most people don't have their bosses as facebook friends.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    i would contact the aclu and be lawyering up, because i am sure that this is some sort of a breach of the 4th amendment.

    It gets into dicey areas of hiring laws as well.. You can't really ask about marital status, religion, race, age, political views, etc... and most of that stuff is probably pretty easy to figure out looking through someone's facebook.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    edited March 2012
    polaris_x wrote:
    lying isn't going to get anyone anywhere ... aliases and unsearchable will only get you so far ...

    the real issue here is that no employer should be given access to anyone's private information

    totally agree...personal life is just ... personal!!!
    Post edited by lukin2006 on
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    Personally I have felt that most employers think they own you...this is just 1 more example...I think it's about time the governments update the laws regarding this type of behavior...which is not likely to happen.
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    polaris_x wrote:
    the real issue here is that no employer should be given access to anyone's private information
    Absolutely.

    Whether or not someone does the social media thing (I don't) is besides the point.
  • lukin2006lukin2006 Posts: 9,087
    It would seem here in Ontario we are protected...

    Demanding Facebook passwords a human rights violation: Commission

    The Ontario Human Rights Commission has weighed in on whether employers can request a job applicant's Facebook password.

    The verdict? In a Facebook post, the Commission said Friday that doing so violates the province's human rights code.

    "(E)mployers should not ask job applicants for access to information stored on social media or other online sites and that doing so could leave an employer open to a claim of discrimination under the Code," it said.

    The Commission referred to Section 23(2) of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which prohibits direct or indirect questions on discriminatory grounds such as race, marital status, age, religion, disability or receipt of public assistance.

    "For this reason, the OHRC believes employers should not ask job applicants for access to information stored on social media or other online sites," it said.

    The commission was responding to media reports that a candidate for a law enforcement position in the Toronto area was asked at an interview to provide his Facebook login and password information.

    "Employers could face a finding of discrimination even if there is no intention to discriminate. The fact that improper questions have been asked is sufficient to prove discrimination, even if the applicant is ultimately given the job," it said.

    The commission cautioned job applicants to use discretion when posting publicly available information online which "may reveal details about themselves that could be used for discriminatory purposes."

    Meanwhile, Facebook issued a post on Friday calling the practice a violation of its privacy guidelines.

    "In recent months, we've seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people's Facebook profiles or private information.

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

    "If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your password, let anyone access your account or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends."

    Read more: http://www.canada.com/business/Demandin ... z1q0iz3EYC
    I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin

    "Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
    interesting, considering that facebook has singlehandedly given away user's private information in the past....i will not believe this until facebook brings the first lawsuit against an employer demanding login information or access to someone's page...


    Facebook Condemns Practice Of Employers Demanding Employee Passwords

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/2 ... 75020.html

    In response to the controversy surrounding the practice of employers requesting Facebook log-in information from both current and prospective employees, the social network has made itself perfectly clear: Facebook will protect your privacy -- even if it means going to court.

    In a March 23 note on the social network's Facebook and Privacy page, Chief Privacy Officer for Policy Erin Egan addressed the issue directly, explaining that the practice "undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends. It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."

    The "legal liability" of which Egan speaks could arise from claims of discrimination against an employer who may have seen that a prospective employee is part of a specific "protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.)" and consequently does not hire them, or if an employer is exposed to certain information (e.g. suggesting that a crime has been committed) and is unaware of how to proceed.

    Futhermore, according to Sam Favate of the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, it's still unclear whether the practice is entirely legal. Favate wrote on March 21:

    The legality of the practice is questionable, and states such as Illinois and Maryland are considering legislation to forbid it. Giving someone your Facebook login information is a violation of the site's terms of service, and the Department of Justice considers it a federal crime to enter social media sites in violation of terms of service -- although recent congressional testimony indicates that such violations would not be prosecuted, AP noted.

    The related Associated Press (AP) story to which Favate referred has caused quite a stir across the web and also spurred a firm response from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on March 22. Like Facebook, the ACLU views the practice of employers asking for social media log-in information as an invasion of privacy.

    Only time will tell whether or not states will view it as such, too. The ACLU is pushing to pass a bill in Maryland that would "prohibit employers from requiring or requesting employees or applications to disclose their user names or passwords to Internet sites and Web-based accounts as a condition of employment." While some headway has been made with the issue in Illinois, legislation to prevent the practice is currently on hold.

    Although the issue of employers demanding employees' log-in info remains questionable in some states, the practice is definitely wrong in the eyes of Facebook. As Egan concluded in her note:

    Facebook takes your privacy seriously. 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....While we will continue to do our part, it is important that everyone on Facebook understands they have a right to keep their password to themselves, and we will do our best to protect that right.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 25,749
    Cracks me up...

    Why would people give a fuck if their potential employer reads their facebook page?

    Seems to me one of the big facebook dramas.....
    Is to see just how many friends one can get....Right??
    Isnt the object of facebook, to get 493 friends, and then share your recipe for meatloaf??

    THEN....

    Those 493 so called "friends" are supposed to tell you that you are the greatest cook on planet Earth ......

    Why wouldnt you want your future employer, to also know, that you make the greatest meatloaf known to man????
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    Cracks me up...

    Why would people give a fuck if their potential employer reads their facebook page?

    Seems to me one of the big facebook dramas.....
    Is to see just how many friends one can get....Right??
    Isnt the object of facebook, to get 493 friends, and then share your recipe for meatloaf??

    THEN....

    Those 493 so called "friends" are supposed to tell you that you are the greatest cook on planet Earth ......

    Why wouldnt you want your future employer, to also know, that you make the greatest meatloaf known to man????
    THIS cracked me up ;)
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    a prospective employer can ask but im not telling them my login details. its got nothing to do with my ability to do the job. what could possibly be the reason behind such a request??
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
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