KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Facebook is going up to bat for its users. The social media company announced on Friday that it will fight to stop employers from requesting access to the accounts of potential employees.
The announcement follows reports that some companies were doing just that. According to a report from MSNBC, Maryland’s Department of Corrections forced Robert Collins, a corrections officer, to surrender his Facebook user name and password during an interview.
After Collins complained to the American Civil Liberties Union, the agency suspended the practice, but opted to surf applicants’ Facebook accounts while they clicked through pictures, posts and friends during interviews.
MSNBC also reports that some universities are requiring sudent athletes to “friend” coaches or compliance officers. Some have even turned to social media monitoring companies like UDilligence and Varsity Monitor that offer software packages to help them keep tabs on students.
A metro woman, who asked FOX 4 to not reveal her identity, says that she nearly lost her job after her employers saw a supposedly “private” post on her Facebook page that criticized her job.
“I was angry about the position I was at, about the low pay rate that I was at, and a couple of other things that happened,” said the woman. “(Her employer) had a screen shot of my post and they had everything written down, they had everything in print including all my family and friends that did comment on it my post, and I was then threatened with my job.”
She says that her employer never told her how they obtained the private posts. She says that her employer had illegally hacked into her Facebook account.
“That’s my personal facebook. That is my personal opinion, and the opinion of my family and friends who commented on it,” she told FOX 4.
Can companies and universities legally do this? Washington DC lawyer, Bradley Shear says no. It’s a violation of the First Amendment.
“I can’t believe some people think it’s okay to do this,” he told MSNBC. “Maybe it’s okay if you live in a totalitarian regime, but we still have a Constitution to protect us. It’s not a far leap from reading people’s Facebook posts to reading their email. … As a society, where are we going to draw the line?”
In addition to it being a violation of free speech, sharing and soliciting a Facebook password is against Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
“This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends,” Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan wrote on the company’s privacy blog. “It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability.”
Facebook indicated, if necessary, they will seek legal action.
“We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.”
