Companies demand your Facebook password- in the land of the free?

Govt. agencies, colleges demand applicants' Facebook passwords ...

I cannot believe that in a country that purports to be the home of freedom and free speech, that companies and schools are allowed to demand that you give them your Facebook password if you want a job or join the football team. I am completely horrified. How is it that people aren't shouting and protesting this? Where is the delineation bettween your private life and work? What right do they have to intrude into the private lives of citizens?

I honestly don't care what you do in your private life. That should be the same for anyone. As long as it doesn't affect your ability to conduct the employment your are hired to do, then it should not matter. This is like assuming a problem before it occurs - guilty until proven innocent. If you do something that causes a public embarrassment, that may be from Twitter or Facebook, then deal with it when it happens, not before. I cetainly am not friends on Facebook with my staff and nor do I want to be. I don't care what they say on Facebook and I don't want to know.

On the other side, I can't believe the stupid stuff people say on social media, thinking it won't come back to haunt them, or not setting the security to lock out prying company eyes.

Is there a single person here who feels this is justified? Is there anyone here that isn't mortified about the invasion of privacy?

That's ridiculous. Doesn't it say they stopped doing it? Also, those that don't have a Facebook are lucky. I personally don't have one for use to be social, but I use it for film and games. Yes indeed.

@NTM said:

That's ridiculous. Doesn't it say they stopped doing it? Also, those that don't have a Facebook are lucky. I personally don't have one for use to be social, but I use it for film and games. Yes indeed.

In theory, yes, but we all know the power of companies. Instead of breaking the law, they distort it. That it ever happened is horrendous. I wouldn't be surpised in some cases if they paid hackers to get past your security anyway. Imagine them asking you at the interview "if they could" have your password. No = no job. It is ethically bad.

@Contrarian: Yeah I understand, and it'd be a little nerve-racking. So yes, I wouldn't like it at all. If what you're assuming did actually happen in the future, I'd assume that someone would be suing.

Don't care. Don't have Facebook. Never will.

When did facebook become your private life for the public/employer to own? Sure, you could have it that way but if you're private it's not of anyone's concern what you write there. It's as if they would want passwords for anything else private, such as email, cellphone. Hey, why not just give them a copy of your home key that way you can't write things about them on a piece of paper at your desk. I would never do that, fuck it, and I don't even write much on facebook.

Yeah, Facebook is not a "private" for of social communication, that's just silly to think. However, to think that someone would ask you for your password is down-right stupid. I would never allow someone that kind of power to manipulate or even sneak-peek themselves into my own account. Seeing what I post is one thing, but the ability to access my account with full power? Absolute bullshit.

EDIT: I actually just read the link and the practice of using your password has been taken away. They require you to log-in to your Facebook on premises so they can see your activity. This is fine because it allows them to see how a person portrays themselves on a social network. If they are belligerent or show signs of company-bashing, they will probably steer away. This is no different than your principal issuing a locker-check in school.

@Pezen said:

When did facebook become your private life for the public/employer to own? Sure, you could have it that way but if you're private it's not of anyone's concern what you write there. It's as if they would want passwords for anything else private, such as email, cellphone. Hey, why not just give them a copy of your home key that way you can't write things about them on a piece of paper at your desk. I would never do that, fuck it, and I don't even write much on facebook.

I am very much against writing/saying offensive stuff on my Facebook, simply because it isn't me and I hate it when people make public fights that should have been in PMs. Nothing on my Facebook would ever be a problem for me, but it is still my private business. Perhaps the intrusion into our lives will cause us to go back to talking directly to each other ....... nah, probably not.

@Contrarian said:

@Pezen said:

When did facebook become your private life for the public/employer to own? Sure, you could have it that way but if you're private it's not of anyone's concern what you write there. It's as if they would want passwords for anything else private, such as email, cellphone. Hey, why not just give them a copy of your home key that way you can't write things about them on a piece of paper at your desk. I would never do that, fuck it, and I don't even write much on facebook.

I am very much against writing/saying offensive stuff on my Facebook, simply because it isn't me and I hate it when people make public fights that should have been in PMs. Nothing on my Facebook would ever be a problem for me, but it is still my private business. Perhaps the intrusion into our lives will cause us to go back to talking directly to each other ....... nah, probably not.

But How is it an intrusion? Your literally posting information onto a website that makes it's money by serving your information to others. Just because you put your "private" tab on doesn't mean a thing. It's a public information hub, and that's just what it is: public. People need to read the user agreements before making these kind of claims that Facebook and any other form of online social community is "private" at all.

You willing allow a company into your life when you make a Facebook, the privacy ended at the sign-up page.

@ccampb89: As long as the information can be hidden from "public" eyes then it's by definition "private", whether or not the user agreement tells you otherwise, considering that's there just to protect the website and it's affiliates. And yes, Facebook is a company and I'm using their service. But none of these factors imply that a third party has any given right to that information that they can't get by public means. And since everything I put is behind private walls, they have no say on that information. So, asking for my login and my password is a form of intrusion. I would never subject myself to it, but it's nevertheless not public information taken by public means. Would Facebook send out my status updates to a company I was applying to? If yes, than sure it's public even to them. But I highly doubt Facebook would take that chance of public shit storm. The only time Facebook might be giving is when there's police involved for some reason or another.

I actually lost a job because of Facebook posts I had made. Late last year, while in the middle of buying a house, my school district cut eight teachers from the high school where I happened to be one of the low men on the totem pole. Before I taught at the high school level, I had taught eighth grade in the same district, and thus knew some people at the middle school. Although I wasn't interested in going back to teaching eighth grade, with a house to pay for and a baby on the way, I would take whatever was available. My boss assured me that they were doing their best to keep me in the district, and so I waited. Three weeks later, I had interviewed with the principal over at the middle school and was told I would be brought on as a dual seventh and eighth grade teacher.

Flash forward to two weeks afterward. I purchased my house, and we were moving forward with the closing within the month. I was supposed to go to a department meeting, but my boss informed me that the principal at the middle school wanted to meet. I assumed it was because of administrative things that had to be taken care of prior to my transfer. I was wrong. He sat me down, and put a stack of printouts from my Facebook page in front of me. The ONLY way he could have had them was if someone brought them directly to him. I am very private on my Facebook page, and rarely post anything even somewhat controversial. The particular posts were made after school, to my private friends, and the worst of them was the following: "Dear student - I get it, you don't like the book. Stop sighing loudly every three seconds, you sound like a douchebag." Don't get me wrong, I never used the actual student's name. I literally wrote "dear student." I am friends with several other teachers outside the district that appreciated this common occurrence in an English classroom. My "new" principal was given a copy of these posts, and subsequently told me he no longer felt comfortable hiring me. I was jobless.

Although I never found out for sure who gave the copy of the posts to the principal, I have a strong feeling. One of my former coworkers distanced himself from our group of friends and started ignoring me before I left the middle school. He was the only person outside of my close friends that knew I was going back to the middle school.

My "private" posts were exposed because of a breach of trust, nothing more.

@Brewmaster_Andy: Man that sucks, that was really shitty of them to do.

Assuming this ever became a thing again, I personally would feel really uncomfortable with giving out my Facebook password. The idea of companies / job interviewers looking at my Facebook wall/Twitter doesn't bother me at all, as that thought is present every time I do post something. It's more so that having that password would allow someone to look at my all conversation logs from the chat client / direct messages.

Not sure about anyone else but AIM/MSN Messenger is next to dead where I am right now, replaced with Facebook chat. Though I doubt there's anything that incriminating, you can never be sure when all 26,### messages with a single person are available for viewing if you have the patience for it to load.

Remember when everyone was so paranoid they didn't even use their real names anywhere on the internet, ever? THEY WERE FUCKING RIGHT

I recommend Identi.ca and Diaspora. These don't do massive surveillance or require you to use your real name.

@buzz_killington: I still use fake names ^^. And avoid Facebook like the plague.

I'm not paranoid dammit!

@TobbRobb said:

@buzz_killington: I still use fake names ^^. And avoid Facebook like the plague.

I'm not paranoid dammit!

I'm the same way, except for the fact that I am paranoid!

That's fucking dumb, and I'm glad they aren't doing it anywhere near me (yet). If it were to happen though I'd simply tell them I don't have a Facebook. That's what I do when relatives ask me to add them, because having them on your friend's list is a fuckin headache in itself. What do these people expect to see on applicant's Facebooks? "Going to feed the homeless at soup kitchen, lovely day LOL!" Go fuck yourself.

They should use it as a test for people who will be handling sensitive information to weed out potential security risks.

@Zidd: I think there's a pretty big difference between telling all of your Facebook friends about the top-secret project you're working on, and telling them how drunk you were last night.

@Brewmaster_Andy: I'm talking about the fact that the easiest way to get a password from someone is to simply ask for it. If they are willing to give up a password just because someone asked for it may make them a weak link. I also think its none of an employers business what the facebook passwords of their employees are.

@Zidd: Good point, didn't think of it that way.

As far as public institutions go, yes, you're entirely right that they have no right to make any such demands of you if you haven't been convicted of an offence. On the other hand, as it relates to private institutions, they have the right to include in their employment contract any detail they want that doesn't obligate you to commit a crime, or permit them to commit one. You have every right to refuse that employment contract, and/or negotiate with them for favourable terms. The notion I inferred from your original point though, that you have the right to impose demands on your employer, is ludicrous on its face. Your employer would be well within their rights to terminate your contract if you refused to live up to your end of it. That much should be obvious.

That's some bull-shit! I never have, and never will, use facebook. This is one more reason to stay away.

Will never understand why potential employers are so concerned with everyone's personal lives. All that should matter is whether or not they are a good fit for the position. I get that someone's personality and how they act is an influence on if they are hired, but the interview process before Facebook worked great for hundreds of years, so why the sudden need to know every detail about everyone's lives in order to hire them? How does reading what I write on FB better qualify for a particular job? It doesn't. Employers want to control people's private lives, and its bullshit. I'm not being paid when I'm not working, so what gives them the right to tell me how I can and can't act during my free time? Its like employers expect everyone to be a saint these days.

This is saddening. What kind of person in good faith would subscribe to using this practice...

I would either make a decoy account or simply deactivate your Facebook temporarily. It can be restored again, but it makes it so your account no longer exist. Can they really mark you down if you don't have a Facebook?

Just tell people you don't have Facebook. Unless it's required for the job, then I don't know what to say. That job sucks.

I have a facebook page, but I'm not particularly secure about it. I'm smart enough to rarely speak my mind on FB, though now that my Twitter account was linked to it, it's definitely harder to censor myself. Honestly, if some company wants to see photos of me drinking at a high school party from four years ago, then by all means. If that's how they choose to judge me then it's probably not the type of job I'd want. I guess I'm lucky that I work with filmmakers and such, they're usually pretty chill artistic types who don't have a stick up their butt. Hell a producer I was delivering props to after a shoot was openly smoking weed in front of me, they really don't care.

@Suicrat said:

As far as public institutions go, yes, you're entirely right that they have no right to make any such demands of you if you haven't been convicted of an offence. On the other hand, as it relates to private institutions, they have the right to include in their employment contract any detail they want that doesn't obligate you to commit a crime, or permit them to commit one. You have every right to refuse that employment contract, and/or negotiate with them for favourable terms. The notion I inferred from your original point though, that you have the right to impose demands on your employer, is ludicrous on its face. Your employer would be well within their rights to terminate your contract if you refused to live up to your end of it. That much should be obvious.

I don't get your point. An employer has no right to request private information from you that is not directly connected to your employment. Facebook is simply a means of telecommunication and no different to your phone. If I refuse to give over my password, then I am not making any demands on my employer. In a properly regulated employment marketplace, a company has no legal right to ask for such information and even the hint of it should be grounds for legal action against the company. I signed a confidentiallity contract with the company I work for. If I breach that, they have every right to terminate me. This has nothing to do with my private life via Facebook.

I don't see a problem with background investigators from the DoD or even local government agencies requiring access to this information to complete their checks for individuals applying for sensitive positions. Other than these specific cases, I can't think of any other situations where this kind of access to private data would be appropriate. Examples would include people applying for jobs with the CIA, NSA, NNSA, FBI, DEA, or even many jobs in the military that require TS and above clearances. However, that's really a moot point because as someone that is subject to regular CI-scope polygraph examinations, I can tell you that anyone in any of these jobs long ago resigned any right to privacy they had in order to work for the agencies that they do.

It is a test of initiative. They want applicants who are smart enough to set up a clean dupe account fleshed out just enough with content to look legit. When I reluctantly joined FB I set up 2 accounts from the start. . Not that I would ever put up anything libelous or damaging knowing full well FB is archiving everything forever.

I don't have a Facebook. I don't exist.

@Zidd said:

They should use it as a test for people who will be handling sensitive information to weed out potential security risks.

That's what I think, I don't think it is really legal to demand a password to a personal account.

@Lunar_Aura said:

Don't care. Don't have Facebook. Never will.

At first, I did not stand up for the Facebook users because I was not a Facebook user.........

@ccampb89 said:

I actually just read the link and the practice of using your password has been taken away. They require you to log-in to your Facebook on premises so they can see your activity. This is fine because it allows them to see how a person portrays themselves on a social network. If they are belligerent or show signs of company-bashing, they will probably steer away. This is no different than your principal issuing a locker-check in school.

I can't believe you would just give up and let them look. If it is set to private and you don't wish them to see it, then why the hell should they? There isn't a single good reason why they should have the right to invade your privacy. For the record, I don't believe children have no rights and without probable cause, no-one should be able to check your locker.

@ccampb89 said:

@But How is it an intrusion? Your literally posting information onto a website that makes it's money by serving your information to others. Just because you put your "private" tab on doesn't mean a thing. It's a public information hub, and that's just what it is: public. People need to read the user agreements before making these kind of claims that Facebook and any other form of online social community is "private" at all.

You willing allow a company into your life when you make a Facebook, the privacy ended at the sign-up page.

Can't agree even slightly. I care little for what the user agreemnets say, private is private. When you choose to set it to private, no-one under any circumstances should be able to view it without you expressed consent. Intimidation by companies is the absolute worst kind of breach of privacy. So many people are willing to give up their right to privacy without seeing the long term consequences where we have no privacy.

@Everyones_A_Critic said:

That's fucking dumb, and I'm glad they aren't doing it anywhere near me (yet). If it were to happen though I'd simply tell them I don't have a Facebook. That's what I do when relatives ask me to add them, because having them on your friend's list is a fuckin headache in itself. What do these people expect to see on applicant's Facebooks? "Going to feed the homeless at soup kitchen, lovely day LOL!" Go fuck yourself.

Aesome idea man, I am going to set up a fake Facebook account with my name (slightly different) and post nothing but "feelgood" stuff ....... just in case.

i deleted mine. i thought it was stupid so i "deleted" it. i know that it's probably around on facebook's server. when i had it, my profile picture was of me in a hearse. friend borrowed a hearse from a place that they work at. they do a thing for a haunted house.