Facebook+Passwords

=Should Employers be allowed to ask Employees for their Facebook and other Social Media Passwords?=

Here is the link to the national discussion- Employers and Employees and Facebook

//If you post to the national discussion, make a note of that in your posting to the Harmon discussion for double credit.//

Here is more information on the topic from Annenberg Speak Out:

__**Should employers be able to ask for employee’s Facebook passwords?**__ //By Jeremy Quattlebaum, Student Voices staff writer//

As the school year nears an end and many of you are getting ready for the summer job interview process, a new request might throw you for a curveball. More and more employers are asking applicants for their Facebook passwords as a means of vetting potential employees. While it is common for employers to search Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts to see what future employees behavior is like outside of the interview process, some companies believe they have the right to have access to your social media accounts. Other companies have been reported to demand that all employees “friend” human resources manager or to log onto a company computer so the hiring agents can take a look at the applicants profile. While requests for passwords is more common among public agencies like law enforcement, it is becoming more and more common for companies to demand some type of access to employees’ or potential employees’ accounts. This type of activity has roused some legislators to action. U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Richard Blumenthal have asked the Attorney General’s to investigate claims of employers asking for passwords and asking if this is breaking any kind of law. “A ban on these practices is necessary to stop unreasonable and unacceptable invasions of privacy,” Blumenthal said, in an interview with The Hill. Representative Patrick McHenry has gone as far as drafting legislation on making it illegal for employers to ask for an employees or potential employees passwords. Ryan Minto, spokesman for Rep. McHenry said in an interview with The Hill, "Requiring an individual to provide access to their personal social media account is an invasion of privacy, plain and simple. Congressman McHenry is considering legislation to prevent this encroachment into Americans’ private lives." Even if employers can’t ask to see behind the wall of privacy on Facebook, posting risky behavior still isn’t encouraged. Many companies still look over a person’s social networking profiles and they can reject them based on what they see. **What do you think?** Do employers have the right to ask for your social media passwords? Is this part of the vetting process or does it invade on employees’ privacy? Should a law be enacted to prevent employers? What are your thoughts about "friending"? Would you give a potential employer access to your account? What about coaches, teachers, counselors, school administrators? Join the discussion and let us know what you think!