[LINK] Facebook responds re password/employer row

[Jan Whitaker]

Facebook Condemns Practice Of Employers Demanding Employee Passwords

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/facebook-employer-employee-passwords_n_1375020.html
The Huffington Post  |  By 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courteney-palis>Courteney 
Palis<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/facebook-employer-employee-passwords_n_1375020.html#> 
Posted: 03/23/2012 11:42 am Updated: 03/23/2012 2:31 pm


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 
<https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/protecting-your-passwords-and-your-privacy/326598317390057>made 
itself perfectly clear: Facebook will protect your privacy -- even if 
it means going to court.

In a 
<https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/protecting-your-passwords-and-your-privacy/326598317390057>March 
23 note on the social network's 
<https://www.facebook.com/fbprivacy>Facebook and Privacy page, Chief 
Privacy Officer for Policy Erin Egan addressed the issue directly, 
<https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/protecting-your-passwords-and-your-privacy/326598317390057>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 
<https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/protecting-your-passwords-and-your-privacy/326598317390057>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, 
<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/21/can-job-applicants-be-asked-for-facebook-passwords/?mod=google_news_blog>according 
to Sam Favate of the <http://online.wsj.com/home-page>Wall Street 
Journal's <http://blogs.wsj.com/law/>Law Blog, it's still unclear 
whether the practice is entirely legal. Favate 
<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/21/can-job-applicants-be-asked-for-facebook-passwords/?mod=google_news_blog>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 
<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JOB_APPLICANTS_FACEBOOK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>Associated 
Press (AP) story to which Favate referred has caused quite a stir 
across the web and also spurred a firm response from the 
<http://www.aclu.org/>American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/aclu-facebook-password_n_1372242.html>on 
March 22. Like Facebook, the ACLU views the practice of employers 
asking for social media log-in information 
<http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/your-facebook-password-should-be-none-your-boss-business>as 
an invasion of privacy.

Only time will tell whether or not states will view it as such, too. 
The ACLU is <http://www.aclu-md.org/press_room/55>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, 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/illinois-facebook-passwor_n_1374818.html>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 
<https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-and-privacy/protecting-your-passwords-and-your-privacy/326598317390057>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.