Facebook password laws have gone into effect in five states, laws that now make it illegal for employers to demand that employees or potential employees share private information from their social media accounts.
The laws came about after employees complained that their bosses were demanding their Facebook, Twitter, and other social network passwords.
The new states enacting the law are Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, California, and Illinois.
Already protecting its citizens from social media snooping is the state of Michigan, which enacted its own law in early December 2012.
State Assemblywoman Nora Campos tells NBC News that the bill was necessary to protect workers:
“My legislation protects workers’ privacy. The legislation is necessary because there is a hole in existing law that prevents employers from intruding into an employee’s legal off-duty conduct.”
The move to protect worker privacy is a two-way road. While employers and potential employers can no longer request internet passwords from their employees or potential employees, many people still don’t protect their social networking posts from public viewing, which is not covered under the new Facebook password laws.
Other states are also considering similar Facebook password laws that will protect an employee’s or potential employee’s personal information.
Do you think it is inappropriate for a business to request the personal login information for an employees Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking accounts?
Finally, a Maryland law I can agree with.
"Have WENT into effect"? sigh.
I think what I have to say on fb is nobody's business but mine. that is a breach of privacy for everyone especially if u are in the "private" mode of fb. this should also include employee/employer relationships.
if the account has nothing to do with the business then yes.
Of all the things to be worried about in the work place it is ridiculous to be snooping on your employees personal time! As long as they are doing their job why is their social networking life important? Let's worry about these possible high ass taxes we about to be taxed if something doesn't happen soon! Freedom of Speech is still in affect!
Inappropriate? Uhm, no, its criminal. Its almost hard to believe there are people dumb enough to actually give their employer their passwords to any of their personal accounts.
As usual Georgia is going to be the last state to make this a law/ So in the mean time lets us the law makers private page against them.. Turnabout is fair play…..
This shouldn't have to be a law. Its a password for a reason.
that's the way it should have always been in the first place, keeping your personal life out of the workplace at least toward your employer that is.
It's real easy. If your "employer" is allowed to snoop around in your life, then so be it. Reverse the scenario and see what kind of perversions your "employer" is in to. If they are allowed to hold anything you say/do over you and check your credit, same should be done to them. If they have "less than perfect credit" , then they should be terminated from their position, also the same should done to all managers/owners. Fair and equal across the board. All this crap that is passed off as "beneficial to corporate stability and profitability" is just a ruse to condemn a person without the benefit of a trial or any defense. Oh, and lets not forget all the other "unsavory" ways employers have to check on your personal life. Besides the credit check they incorporate private investigators, any and all court records, driving records, all drug screens, military backgrounds(if applicable), any hospital records, and my favorite…all traveling you have done outside of the US. Don't you just love the umbrella they hide under called Homeland Security checks?
Giving employers your pass word takes 'Big Brother' to whole new level. I agree with Adam Schmitz completely… "This shouldn't be a law. Its a password for a reason".
This is one of the many reasons I don't have a Facebook account.
yes it should be illegal , those accounts have absolutely nothing to do with a persons job.
According to FB policy (which u agree to when u set up an account) – u actually aren't supposed to give ANYONE your password. Employers (with few exceptions) have no right whatsoever to view their employees LEGAL off-time activities. If u do a good job but like to bar hop & screw anything with 2 legs on the weekends – its really none of their business, just like it doesn't matter if your stupid enough to post drunken pictures of urself or rude comments about your employer online. Certain employers are going to start putting things in employment contracts though about employees social media privacy, expected behaviors of employees in public & any comments made publicly about the company. Its been standard for 100 yrs that teachers can lose their jobs for certain off-time behaviors, some that aren't even illegal.
Exactly, its a password for a reason. Should they request your email password, then they should provide you with a work only email. If they need your fb password, same story. they should have you open a company only fb account. but I doubt any group of employees would participate in a company only fb friend ring. ha ha ha. bullies. bosses can be such bullies.
So much bullshit in this stupid monkey world. How does this even make sense to people?
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This is very wrong. If an employer felt an employee was abusing company time by being 'online', then the employer should have that worker's company computer set to where the person cannot delete browsing history. This way the employer would know if the person had been on a social media page. This doesn't mean the employer should be 'wasting' time constantly checking someone's browsing history, but if the person keeps having problems getting their work done, then I think its justifiable to check the browsing history.
The idea that my boss would want to log into facebook as me is bizarre – but not as bizarre as people who would actually give their passwords over. Dumb dumb dumb.
While I agree that employers should not be able to force employees to give them access to FB personal pages… if you are too stupid to secure your Facebook page and post everything public, you deserve what you get.
Absolutely No Reason for this
that is not the point, it is your right if you wanted one and your right for it to be private
nothing else holds a priority over this topic for our lawmakers and employers? seriously? Beam me up, aliens! LOL…
what happened to the phrase "don't bring your personal life to work with you?" same goes for bosses, "if I leave my personal life at home, my boss should leave it where I left it!"
Inappropriate? Really? That goes without saying! Why would we even have passwords if we would just give it to other people to use?! Snoopy ass people, get your own lives!
Crazy
None of their business!!! Invasion of privacy… Total BS!!! Hell NO I wouldn't give my password!! Family & friends only on my FB. Not public for a reason..
Absolutely, it should be illegal! However it is sad that states have to even make it so. My employer has done some treading on thin ice with this as well as Linked in. I was pretty hot under the collar about it.
as citizens we should have the right to privacy and no employee or government agency should demand it from us. business can go fuck themselves with a jagged rusty blade. some employer asks me for my password I would go tell them to go fuck off and get a lawyer and file a law suit for violation of my right of privacy.
I don't think it's appropriate at all for an employer to even ask you your password. That's my business not theirs. If I had someone do that to me, I would say well, ok if I can have your pin number of your debit card. See how they like it.
Employers should not need to be reminded that they do not own their employees. This down economy has given them a sense of entitlement that oversteps the bounds of common sense and human decency.
I like your post Timothy! I believe that drug testing should be illegal as well since we do not test for alcohol use, or prescription drug abuse which are all just as illegal as drugs.
No this shouldn't have to even be a law. But these employers will push the boundries if they can get away with it. I knew when the HIPPA privacy law first took affect that it was going to be a bigfatassed joke. Systematically we are losing any and all rights to personal privacy. And the government comes up with clever lies to justify the need for more and more surveillance of the population.