[LINK] US Republican House of Reps blocks attempt to restrict password requirement

[Jan Whitaker]

Facebook Protection Amendment Voted Down In House

Posted: 03/27/2012 8:36 pm Updated: 03/27/2012 8:36 pm


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/facebook-password-protection-amendment-congress_n_1384045.html

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans blocked a measure Tuesday night that 
would have let the Federal Communications Commission prevent 
employers from forcing workers to reveal their Facebook passwords.

Democrats offered the legislation as part of bill to slap new 
restrictions on FCC rules after a string of reports about employers 
insisting on access to social media accounts -- a practice that some 
senators already want <http://nyti.ms/HegPjj>investigated by the 
Justice Department.

"It only makes sense because those that are using these kinds of 
social media have an expectation of privacy," said Rep. Ed Perlmutter 
(D-Colo.), offering the Democratic motion <http://bit.ly/HaAAZX>on 
the House floor. "They have an expectation that their right to free 
speech or their right to free religion will be respected when they 
use these social media outlets."

He added that "if an employer wants to pose as or impersonate the 
individual who had to turn over their confidential password, that 
employer, I think, will be able to reach into personal, private 
information of the user... or of the person who's communicating with them."

"If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your 
password," Perlmutter said.

The measure failed, <http://www.house.gov/daily/hpg.htm>184 to 236, 
with no Republicans voting for it.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, argued that the 
Democratic provision did not help.

"You don't protect the consumer," Walden said. "And there are many of 
us who after this debate concludes and moves on, would be happy to 
work with you on legislation because I think this is a real issue 
that we all share, and that is protecting privacy. This doesn't do that."

Walden also referred to the time-lapse between when the FCC writes a 
rule and when it is published. "In fact, you could open the door 
where they (the FCC) could allow employers and licensees to go after 
your stuff and you wouldn't know until they published the rule," he said.

[the logic at the end escapes me --- so you'll just let the problem 
continue and the lapse of time for the rules to take effect will just 
be alter.. huh?]


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
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