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Your Facebook password should be none of your boss' business

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

#71

Post by dangrossman »

_mayo wrote: post #45
jchrisa wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Would it be considered "hacking" if you where "willingly" providing your password to them?

Accessing a computer system without authorization is a crime. Facebook is the only entity that can dictate the terms of lawful access to Facebook systems. If Facebook's terms dictate that you cannot access their systems using another person's credentials, then doing so is unauthorized and unlawful. I don't know how well that would hold up to the various appeals processes, IANAL, but there seems to be some case law supporting it for now.

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

#72

Post by mjwalshe »

mirsadm wrote: post #27

This is a great "I don't want to work here" filter. If I was asked for my password during an interview I would probably leave. I can easily afford to do that because there is such a demand for software engineers (and I'm not even looking!). Unfortunately for others who aren't in the same position I think it is absolutely disgraceful for some stranger to go through your personal stuff just to get a job.

Yes some companies do seem to have a vastly inflated sense of their own importance. Id be tempted to say the HR person "just who the fuck do you think you are" and does the CEO dress up and run round the woods with airsoift guns pretending he's in the SAS / DEvGuru.

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

#73

Post by jchrisa »

pasbesoin wrote: post #57

As I saw commented elsewhere, giving up your password / access to another person appears to be a pretty clear violation of Facebook's TOS (terms of service). So, my first response might be to ask whether they are soliciting me to breach a legal contract that I've entered. (I'll leave my thoughts on the actual legality or interpretation and reasonableness of claimed legality on the part of the service provider, here F…

I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if you could get a request like this in writing, the right lawyer would be able to get you a hefty settlement under existing law. Just guessing, but I'd be surprised if it's legal to ask prospective employees to engage in unlawful activities as a condition of employment. As mentioned before, sharing your Facebook password is illegal.

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

#74

Post by adestefan »

dreamling wrote: post #46

I think the whole topic is silly. If your potential employer asked you for passwords to your bank accounts, stock managers or asked you to hand over your journals, why would you comply? I know the job market is still tough out there for people, but why would you want to work for a company that won't trust you based on your face to face interview, the documents you submit, your references and a due diligence web searc…

Employers don't have to ask you for a password to your bank account because they can just go to a credit bureau and get all the financial information they need.

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

#75

Post by adestefan »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #4

I wonder what the implications would be if facebook introduced a feature that allowed a potential employer to "buy" temporary access to a potential employees facebook data? For example you apply for a job somewhere and the next time you log into facebook you get a message that reads something like. "InitTech PLC has requested read only access to your account for 48 hours, please be aware that compliance with this is…

Why not? This already exists in the financial world. Banks, credit companies, etc. already self-report to the credit bureaus. An employer, or potential employer, is free to pull that information on you with consent.

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

#77

Post by reinhardt »

RandallBrown wrote: post #76

If someone asked me for my facebook password I would ask for theirs. If they think it's important to see my personal information, they should be fine with me seeing theirs.

If I had a facebook and someone asked me for my password I would laugh in their face, as if they had delivered the most deadpan of punchlines.

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

#78

Post by MartinCron »

mirsadm wrote: post #27

This is a great "I don't want to work here" filter. If I was asked for my password during an interview I would probably leave. I can easily afford to do that because there is such a demand for software engineers (and I'm not even looking!). Unfortunately for others who aren't in the same position I think it is absolutely disgraceful for some stranger to go through your personal stuff just to get a job.

I once walked out of an interview because they told me about their mandatory drug testing policy, and I don't ever take any illegal recreational drugs. I just found the culture of distrust created by the statement "we need to inspect your bodily fluids" to be toxic. I'm fortunate that I had the luxury to do that.

Similarly, I never post anything on Facebook (or the Internet at large) that I wouldn't feel comfortable seeing on the front page of the newspaper. But the moment anyone asks for any account password, I'm done talking to them.

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

#79

Post by MartinCron »

nirvana wrote: post #54
mirsadm wrote: post #27

This is a great "I don't want to work here" filter. If I was asked for my password during an interview I would probably leave. I can easily afford to do that because there is such a demand for software engineers (and I'm not even looking!). Unfortunately for others who aren't in the same position I think it is absolutely disgraceful for some stranger to go through your personal stuff just to get a job.

I agree with you. The thing I'm debating is what is the appropriate further action you should take before you leave. I once left an interview because the NDA they wanted me to sign gave them rights to all of my work for the next 6 months, and the right to audit me at any day or time by searching my house! I told the HR person I wasn't willing to sign that, and why, that it would prevent me working anywhere if I didn'…

If the HR person thought that you were being a prima donna for not wanting to sign that NDA, then you're just doubly lucky that you didn't wind up working there.

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

#80

Post by grecy »

jchrisa wrote: post #73
pasbesoin wrote: post #57

As I saw commented elsewhere, giving up your password / access to another person appears to be a pretty clear violation of Facebook's TOS (terms of service). So, my first response might be to ask whether they are soliciting me to breach a legal contract that I've entered. (I'll leave my thoughts on the actual legality or interpretation and reasonableness of claimed legality on the part of the service provider, here F…

I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if you could get a request like this in writing, the right lawyer would be able to get you a hefty settlement under existing law. Just guessing, but I'd be surprised if it's legal to ask prospective employees to engage in unlawful activities as a condition of employment. As mentioned before, sharing your Facebook password is illegal.

I'm certain that anyone asking to snoop through your Facbook knows they are doing something "wrong" - maybe they don't understand the full implications, but I'm sure none of them would be stupid enough to put the request in writing.
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