With more people than ever using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, employers scope out job applicants’ online interactions as a test of character.
But now they are going beyond the access granted to the general public-they are asking for users’ passwords.
A recent report by WRAL recounts the experience of Justin Bassett, a New York City statistician, who went in for a job interview anticipating the usual round of questions regarding his experience and character. Instead, the interviewer turned to her computer and searched for Bassett’s Facebook page, which yielded no results because of his privacy settings. To Bassett’s surprise, the interviewer requested his username and password.
Essentially accessing the site as Bassett himself would have made the interviewer privy to all of his personal messages, photos and networks. As this request becomes more common, questions are raised as to whether it is ethical, or even legal. Pam Gerace , director of N.C. State Student Legal Services, said it is more of a privacy issue.
“Facebook is a public social media, so it’s not a privacy concern if the page is public,” Gerace said. “Or, if the interviewee grants access by giving their password.”
Gerace said, as of now, it is not illegal for the employer to ask for this information, but the interviewee has the right to deny access. However, the employer can take into account whether that access was granted or denied when considering the person for a job.
“North Carolina is an at-will employment state, which basically means that you can be hired or fired, or you can quit, for any reason that you want outside of discriminatory reasons,” Gerace said.
She said Facebook has not been included in the discriminatory reasons yet, making it legal to take into account information on one’s Facebook page when hiring or firing.
Gerace works regularly with pre-law students. She said issues like this arise even in the interview process at that level so it’s something for students to be aware of.
Kacy Buchanan, a senior in secondary science education, is very aware of that competition. With her upcoming graduation next December, Buchanan said she will actively seek a teaching job and confronts the possibility her Facebook will be under close surveillance.
“Since I’ve been student teaching, I’ve had my profile set to private so that you can’t search for my name unless you’re a friend of a friend,” Buchanan said. “I’m also very careful about what I put on my Facebook, and sometimes I untag myself in photos if my friends aren’t as careful.”
Buchanan found the fact that employers would request usernames and passwords an extreme invasion of privacy.
“If everything is private, why would they need to access what no one else can see anyway?” she questioned.
The Facebook social network company shares Buchanan’s concern. In a report by WRAL , Erin Egan, the chief privacy of policy officer, warned employers not to request passwords from job applicants because it was an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities.
Facebook has a long-standing policy against sharing passwords, and it threatens legal action against those who violate the policy. By turning over your Facebook password, you grant access not only to your own information, but to that of your friends and other users who are protected by the security policy.
”As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job,” Egan said. “And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job.”
With this in mind, sharing your password is much more than a privacy concern. Facebook considers the action to be a security risk for all those involved.
