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Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

aclu.org

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Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#31

Post by Zikes »

jonnathanson wrote: post #23
eru wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder whether people without an account will start having to create one, just to enable the HR drone to tick the checkbox.

Along those lines, one trend I've noticed quite a bit lately is not using one's full, real name as one's Facebook handle. For instance, someone named John Smith might rename his FB profile "Johnny S." This tactic allows our hypothetical Mr. Smith to dodge search engine results for his full name. It wouldn't protect him from having to hand over his password, but at least it keeps all those photos of his brandishing re…

Assuming a person couldn't be found via search results they could easily claim they don't have any Facebook account at all, dodging the need for a dummy profile altogether.

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#32

Post by [deleted] »

jonnathanson wrote: post #23
eru wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder whether people without an account will start having to create one, just to enable the HR drone to tick the checkbox.

Along those lines, one trend I've noticed quite a bit lately is not using one's full, real name as one's Facebook handle. For instance, someone named John Smith might rename his FB profile "Johnny S." This tactic allows our hypothetical Mr. Smith to dodge search engine results for his full name. It wouldn't protect him from having to hand over his password, but at least it keeps all those photos of his brandishing re…

[deleted]

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#33

Post by dripton »

Zikes wrote: post #16
brown9-2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should it be illegal though, if the applicants have to agree to do it in the first place? That's the piece of this that seems to get lost - the applicants are, for whatever hard-to-fathom reason, consenting. It's shady, and seems short-sighted, but no one is disclosing information against their will here.

Asking for protected information is illegal, whether the applicant consents to give it or not.

Can you cite the law?

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#34

Post by mdkess »

ahi wrote: post #28
mdkess wrote: post #20

If I ever had someone demand this, I would update my account to show my sexual orientation as homosexual, my religion to Islam, and my political views to whatever the opposite of my boss's were. Then if they ever tried to lay me off, or not give me a raise, I would point out that the only useful information they possibly could have gotten from demanding my Facebook account were these protected statuses.

Of the three listed, the only one that is actually protected in the United States is religion. In the vast majority of the United States you can be fired for being gay or a republican. If you work for a labor organization in the United States, you have to be fired for certain political views and organisational memberships (the left-wing variety).

On a federal level yes, but many states (including New York and California) have protection against sexual orientation. I'm surprised to learn that political affiliation is not protected.

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#35

Post by jchrisa »

mathiasben wrote: post #12

Is there anything in facebook's terms of service that would permit their users to share login info with third parties?

Agree. It might be a crime to comply with this request. Given that it can be a crime ("hacking") to break TOS. Catch-22

Update: 2 of the comments on the ACLU article say this also. I'm surprised this line of reasoning isn't more prominent on the issue.

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#36

Post by wisty »

mdkess wrote: post #34
ahi wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of the three listed, the only one that is actually protected in the United States is religion. In the vast majority of the United States you can be fired for being gay or a republican. If you work for a labor organization in the United States, you have to be fired for certain political views and organisational memberships (the left-wing variety).

On a federal level yes, but many states (including New York and California) have protection against sexual orientation. I'm surprised to learn that political affiliation is not protected.

Colorado is possibly the best, protecting "any lawful activity".

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#38

Post by MRonney »

I worked at a social media marketing agency for a few months, when I went out of town I gave my manager my login information because my clients would sometimes direct message me instead of email (annoying). A few weeks after returning, some of my new messages would already appear open, and Facebook asked me if I logged into my account from a PC ( NEVER!!) at a different location than normal ( near my managers house). I was upset and went to her boss, they said she was just doing her job and that she had every right to check up on company communication.

Re: Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

#40

Post by Zikes »

dripton wrote: post #33
Zikes wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Asking for protected information is illegal, whether the applicant consents to give it or not.

Can you cite the law?

I am not a lawyer, but having worked in a corporate setting for years this is something that's drilled into us constantly.

Edit: A bit of searching leads me to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964). I'm not sure if the wording specifically prohibits asking about protected statuses, but any legal decisions about that would probably have their roots in that Act.

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