How is it legal for an employer to demand an applicant's social media passwords?

[Kefka]

Suppose that Jack applies to work at ABC, Inc. ABC, Inc demands Jack's facebook passwords. I am friend's with Jack on facebook and wrote private content intended for his eye's only. As such, not only is ABC, Inc violating Jack's privacy, but mine and everyone on his friend list too. ABC can toss off. I don't want some corporate sleazebag working in HR knowing what I look like, where I live, my personal opinions on politics, religion, etc.

Hopefully this will be made illegal soon.

[Walter]

It is legal because the internet moves faster than society and laws can keep up. What crime is being committed? Remember your Facebook account is no "yours", you don't own it (even Facebook says this as they sell your information to cooperations). You do not pay for Facebook, it is free. You have no ownership.

Businesses do this as you say what a great person you are in your interview, then post pictures on your FB of you snorting lines at a party, posting on your Wall about "hungover again calling in sick to party more", etc. Don't post stupid stuff and you don't have to worry. Meanwhile, you are 1 of about 10000 applicants at that job, so if you refuse, they simply disqualify you and move on to the next applicant

[Wendy]

That's a dumb workplace to be at anyways

There are thousands of better ones

[Bob B]

Right now, there's no law against asking for this information or requiring it as a condition of employment, in fact some employers already do this.

Of course, an employee or prospective employee could simply refuse to give it up, but their employer could then fire him/refuse to hire him. In the US, you can be fired/refused employment for any reason whatsoever that is not prohibited by law, and this one isn't prohibited at the moment.

[Anser]

And you didn't send Jack an email with the private content because?

Never post anything on the Internet that you don't want everyone to see.

[Win]

if using a company computer, Jack has no rights.

[Max]

I find it disgusting that an employer would violate an employee right to privacy. Here in the UK that kind of thing is private, however we are currently in the midst of a potential violation of everybody's freedom on the net as the government propose to snoop on all our online activities. I am totally against this.

[Badge203]

Because you do not own facebook it is a public forum

Second employers want to see how an applicant lives in his real life. If the Facebook is filled with the applicant smoking dope, drinking, etc then that is not the kind of employee they want

And again if the applicant has nothing to hide then whats the problem

Police departments require this and if the applicant does not want to allow access then the PD does not have to hire them

Again and everybody is told this, NEVER out anything on a social page that you do not want others to see

[badd302]

I think this is a new area and as we all know, technology goes faster then the law and the law has to catch up on regulation or non regulation as the case may be. I personally think it is totally an invasion of your privacy, but then again, I do not believe in urine tests either. The information on your private facebook page is just that, NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING, otherwise you would have placed it as such, like some do. I personally would fight it. Unfortunately, it would be Jacks option to fight it and not yours, therefore, since you know this might possibly happen, do not put anything on facebook, even if the facebook page is private, that you would not want viewed by the entire public. Our personal privacies are being taken away bit by bit. Such a shame.

[justme]

This, my friend, is what privacy settings and fake (or multiple) accounts are for. If an employer wants a Facebook password and you want the job badly enough, then give them *a* Facebook password and go about your business under another account name or using a different social media service. Like E-ma said, it's legal because it's not illegal. If every person and company acted ethically, we'd need no laws.