Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently wrote to the US Attorney General and the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), referring to a “disturbing trend” of employers demanding that job applicants provide their user names and passwords for social networking and email Websites, to permit employers to review such information as part of the interview process. The Senators requested legal opinions from the Department of Justice and EEOC regarding the practice and suggested that legislation might be required to “fill any gaps in federal law.”
The Senators described the practice of demanding password information as a “grave intrusion” into personal privacy and a “dangerous precedent” that could “make it more difficult for Americans to get jobs, and expose employers to discrimination claims.” They acknowledged, however, that “comprehensive background checks for individuals are sometimes needed” when applicants seek employment in law enforcement, at “highly sensitive infrastructure sites,” or for jobs “where there is significant access to vulnerable populations.”
The chief privacy policy officer at Facebook, at about the same time, advised users that “you should never have to share your password, let anyone access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends.”
Yet this ship may already have sailed. In one survey (already three years old), 45 percent of employers reported using social networking information to screen employment candidates. And employment consultants note that failure to make use of such information might, in some cases, lead to claims of “negligent hiring” of dishonest or dangerous employees.
Indeed, as Senator Schumer and others complained in an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with little more than a telephone number and a home address: “Anyone with ten minutes, $25,” and such information “can obtain a breathtaking amount of information” from various “people search” sites. Such information, moreover, may be out-of-date and inaccurate, or pertain to someone other than the job applicant (but with the same name).
Employers can be sorely challenged to navigate this minefield -- damned if they do (obtain sensitive information) and damned if they don’t (conduct adequate screening). The uncertainty of regulatory sources (federal and state legislation, privacy “common law,” collective bargaining agreements with labor unions, and more) merely adds to the difficulty. Without judging the best means to resolve these policy dilemmas, it may be time for a more comprehensive national debate on the use of social networking information.
[Disclosure: The author is a partner in the New York City offices of Jones Day and chairman of its e-discovery committee. He teaches electronic discovery at New York Law School and Conflicts of Law at Hofstra Law School. The views expressed are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to the author’s firm or its clients.]
Steven, I think you've nailed it. You can't legislate morality, and those who try inevitably wind up writing bad law. The suggestions to not put anything on social media sites you wouldn't want seen on the front page of the local paper would also make perfect sense. No, the original purpose of the legislation was to prevent employers from requiring employees or prospective employees to provide social media passwords as a requirement of new or continued employment. Yes, that's morally reprehensible, but that wouldn't stop some folks. The real problem with common sense is that it really isn't.
For once. I don't believe we should be too optimistic, though. Getting it right this time was kind of a no brainer; the issues were very direct and clear. Things fall apart in Congress it seems with more sophisticated issues relating to the nature of technology and markets.
between looking at the applicant's Facebook page, and asking for a password to it -- and yes, that violates the terms of service, and people *have* been legally charged with that (in the Megan Meier case).
That said, it's also a concern that companies, in the guise of doing background checks, could find out things about an applicant that fall into the realm of protected categories -- sex, age, parental status, etc. I gather there's now companies that will vet applicants for you and present you with that sort of information but scrubbed of all the protected class material.
All of the social networking sites (and most other internet sites) have "terms of use" or "privacy policies" that specify what the company can/will do with user information. With a few notable exceptions, these terms are not required by law. Rather, they are self-imposed restrictions that web site purveyors may choose to apply for various reasons (not least of which may be good public relations). But site operators can and do change their policies. To be certain of what a site may do with your information, you need to read the policy. There are also some private certification groups that have developed frameworks for evaluation of the privacy policies of a web site owner. Again, however, these certifications are voluntary.
In substance, there's always a need for a "fresh look" at privacy. It changes, as technology, business practices and cultural habits change. And, although there are plenty of theories on how to define it, and how to implement it, the law of privacy (at least in the United States) is not settled, or uniform.
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A recent Michigan case -- Ahmed v. Finley's Mfg. Co. -- concerned the settlement of class action claims that "halal" products offered at fast food restaurants in Dearborn did not comply with Islamic dietary restrictions.
The United States has no single national privacy protection agency. Over the past 20 years, however, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken a leading role in education, outreach to consumer and industry groups, and enforcement in the area of privacy and data security. The FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, within its Bureau of Consumer Protection, enforces several federal statutes, regarding “unfair or deceptive” practices, fair credit reporting, and confidentiality of financial information. Further, the FTC takes principal responsibility for enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which aims to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children online.
The advancement of digital technology opens unprecedented avenues for e-commerce, aided by digital currency systems. In addition to online credit cards and other forms of payment, technology has developed to the point where individuals can carry digital wallets within their smartphones and complete transactions with near-instantaneous payment. This Forbes India article provides a description of digital wallet systems.
Social media platforms have greatly transformed personal interactions in the work environment. But the trend toward daily use of social networks, at work and elsewhere, has generated legal controversy as to what is protected worker activity and what is grounds for termination.
The US government is funding controversial projects to collect daily Internet activity, including Web searches, Twitter messages, Facebook and blog posts, and the digital location trails generated by billions of cellphones. Its goal is to map these interactions to predict social behavior, such as protests.
The US boasts a commitment to "Internet freedom," but in practice that commitment falls short. What Internet freedom really means is freedom of the mind.
Our online communications and privacy are being threatened by governments and corporations. Eben Moglen believes it's time for a People's Internet, made possible by "Freedom Boxes."
WikiLeaks' founder says that Facebook is an instrument for government spying. Whether that's true or not, we're sharing too much, and we’re on the edge of compromising the notion of identity, and with it of privacy and commercial protection.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Ushering in a new era of cognitive computing systems, IBM announced today the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, a technology breakthrough that allows brands to crunch big data in record time to transform the way they engage clients in key functions such as customer service, marketing, and sales.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
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