"You will not share your password, ...let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account," says Facebook's Terms of Service.
Nonetheless, schools, employers, and even government agencies are compelling people to give up their Facebook passwords so as to rifle through their accounts. (Creepy, no?)
The issue attracted media attention in March, when an adolescent girl and her mother filed suit against her public school district. According to the complaint, middle school officials allegedly punished the girl repeatedly for complaining on her privacy-enabled Facebook account about an adult hall monitor being "mean" to her.
Adding insult to injury, school officials and a law enforcement officer allegedly required the girl to reveal her Facebook password -- under threat of punishment -- after a parent complained that the girl had talked about sex outside of class with the parent's son on Facebook. Allegedly, the school officials then thoroughly searched through, commented on, and took notes on the girl's Facebook content -- including her private communications -- while the girl sat there and sobbed. (There is no indication in the complaint that the son, who allegedly initiated the cybersexual discussion, was subjected to the same search.)
The case is reminiscent of an incident in Concord, New Hampshire, that I wrote about for Internet Evolution nearly a year ago. There, a public middle school suspended a 13-year-old girl after she posted on her Facebook wall a wish that only her math teacher had died in the September 11 attacks. The case attracted a flurry of media attention. According to the girl's mother, the school has since conceded that its actions were unconstitutional; she reports that the local high school's civics class now teaches the incident "as an example of what a school system can not do."
Some colleges and employers also request Facebook login information as part of their application processes. This practice has raised several privacy concerns -- not least of which being that full, unfettered access to an applicant's social media profile data may reveal protected information that the organization is not allowed to ask or use in making a decision (e.g., age, ethnicity, religion, et cetera). Sadly, few are in a position to refuse such password requests in today's job market.
This is not a recent trend. As Alan Reiter wrote for Internet Evolution nearly three years ago, the City of Bozeman, Montana, asked for job applicant's social network passwords as early as 2009. (The city reportedly discontinued the practice in 2011.)
Also in 2009, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners (the august group that decides who gets to be a lawyer in the State of Florida) promulgated a rule that certain applicants may be required to reveal their social network passwords and allow the Examiners to search through their accounts.
Coincidentally, it may be just a matter of time before the lawyers put this practice to bed. At least two states are considering legislation banning employers from requesting online passwords. A similar bill is also soon to come before the US Senate. Additionally, a lawsuit could potentially crop up down the line, given the right circumstances (although Facebook, for its part, apparently has no immediate desire to sue the interferers).
True, every sizeable organization needs to establish a good social media policy -- particularly one that prevents employees from embarrassing or creating liability for the organization, or otherwise interfering with the organization's goals. (I've discussed some examples previously here.) One can go too far, though -- as a matter of law, and as a matter of good will.
— Joe Stanganelli is a writer, attorney, and communications consultant. He is also principal and founding attorney of Beacon Hill Law in Boston. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeStanganelli.
I too, only post that which I would not object to being posted in a local newspaper. That being said, I would demand:
To see the list of everyone in the company who "might" have access to my credentials.
To receive the credentials of everyone on that list.
If the company complied with these demands, then I would consider giving them access to my account.
I believe it is as illegal to ask for this kind of social information as to ask about race, creed and other such taboos that employers are not allowed to ask for.
I still think that people shouldn't have to offer up their FB accounts to their employers or offer to sit down and review it with them. That would be like asking my boss, "hey, can I look at your FB page?" It's an invasion of privacy no matter which way you slice it. And I think it's an unfair way to gauge a person's qualifications for a job.
Wonder bread indeed Kim - Helps build strong social networking bones in seven ways (if you remember that commercial from years gone by) I've never been asked for it, but wonder if the wording is such that you must produce ALL or just "Do you have a Facebook account? If yes, please supply username and password"
Unethical and I just don't know how legal it is. With the employment market being less than robust for years, I think a lot is done that never would be done in the past. If you are "okay" asking for a person's Facebook password, why not their email password, or even their ATM password? Could you demand they supply 3 years worth of back tax returns? I"m clearly not advocating ANY of these but I've heard stories of such things being asked for in job interviews.
@Steve: That ia a very valid point. Many people nowadays are carrying two profiles on social networks to avoid being in a situation where they are asked to reveal their passwords.
In principle, I find it against ethical values to ask someone of their passwords even if you intend to hire them. Employees' should have a right to their privacy.
Kim - Making one up quickly may not be do-able, but I wonder how many "doubles" we'd have of people/friends - a "real" Facebook page and another "for employers only" page, which timelines a select group of friends, harmless unincriminating photos, lack of profanity or political slantings - in other words a Wonder bread account that we say to prosepective employers "Sure, here, take a look"
I've had some friends say "I won't give you my password, but will be more than happy to sit down with whomever will be viewing it and show them what they want to see, with me present - you know, kind of like having the right to an attorney?" This tends to shut that avenue pretty effectively.
It's a little difficult to create a Facebook account at short notice (with convincing content, I mean). Certainly, if this practice became common among potential employers, there'd be good reason to think of running two Facebook accounts in parallel, one as a shopfront for employers, and the other for personal content.
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