# Employers now demanding job applicants Facebook passwords **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569 "2012-03-23T01:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/1 "2012-03-23T01:43:19Z")
Not sure if this belongs in IMHO or Great Debates or even The Pit (for starters anyway). Saw this article yesterday (3/21/2012). So now job interviewers are asking applicants for their Facebook passwords so they can go trolling through their stuff. Alternatively, they ask applicants to log on for them right there at the interview so HR can poke around. [If You Want A Job, You May Have To Turn Over Your Facebook Password](http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-21/news/31217978_1_facebook-password-social-networking-interviewer) Since I’m starting this in IMHO, I guess I should state an opinion (as if it’s not obvious). This behavior is a despicable abomination, plumbing new depth of depravity to which employers are now willing to sink. Somebody is paying attention: Article today (3/22/2012): Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) proposes federal legislation prohibiting this: [Senator: Employers shouldn’t seek site passwords](http://news.yahoo.com/senator-employers-shouldnt-seek-passwords-215733992.html) Dopers, have your say! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/2 "2012-03-23T02:38:59Z")
Assuming I needed the job bady enough that I couldn’t just tell the interviewer to fuck off, I’d have absolutely no ethical problem telling the interviewer that I didn’t have a Facebook profile (and hiding mine appropriately). It’s none of their damn business. Plus not only would they be violating my privacy, they’d be violating the privacy of all the friends who post there, sometimes on very sensitive topics - and those people wouldn’t be in a position to consent (or not). Not to mention my mom. Hell no. What will they do next, tap my phone and open my mail? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/3 "2012-03-23T02:47:25Z")
My interview would be short: Can you log into Facebook now please? Don’t have an account. Myspace? Sorry. Twitter? No. Blog? Nope. Forums? Don’t post under my own name - so…no. We’ll get back to you. Go fuck yourself. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/4 "2012-03-23T02:51:54Z")
“Give us your Facebook password.” “Oh, I’m sorry, no. You see, I would not want to do anything that would expose your company to liability. If you had access to my Facebook, you might see my profile, which has information about me which relates to federally protected class. If you chose not to hire me, or I wasn’t happy here, you’d be open to a discrimination lawsuit. I wouldn’t want that, of course. So best if we keep social life social and work life work, okay?” (No, I don’t expect I’d be hired there, but…_really_?! Fuck off.) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/5 "2012-03-23T02:52:04Z")
“I’m sorry, but providing my Facebook password would be a violation of the Facebook Terms of Service. Asking me to do such a thing is unethical not only for that, but as a violation of my privacy. Do you want to reconsider that request, or do you really want to position your company as unethical on multiple levels and disrespectful of both it’s employees and potential employees?” “Mr. Chimera, we must insist.” “Then that would be a solid NO.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/6 "2012-03-23T03:07:45Z")
I’d delete any Facebook or Myspace accounts if I was seeking a Corporate job. They’re going to snoop around the web googling your name anyway. The less they find the better. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/7 "2012-03-23T03:30:26Z")
Now I’m really thinking about the guy on Facebook who has my (very uncommon) name. On one hand, he’s listed as living nowhere near me, but OTOH… ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/8 "2012-03-23T03:39:49Z")
Leaper - Maybe you should start your own facebook account, with lots of photos of yourself. Make it nice and safe and bland. I only use facebook to sign up for freebies. I can’t imagine that would make a good impression in an interview, I have no friends and “like” Fancy Feast, Lipton, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/9 "2012-03-23T03:48:37Z")
If this is something that concerns people, you can turn off public search for your FB profile. It’s under Privacy Settings and then Apps and Games. Once all the search engines have cleaned your profile out of their caches, you should be unfindable via google or bing. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/10 "2012-03-23T03:51:03Z")
> [@](#): > > This behavior is a despicable abomination, plumbing new depth of depravity to which employers are now willing to sink. I am gobsmacked that anyone, anywhere, thinks that this is a good idea. If a company wants to check someone’s public social media page, that’s one thing. But demanding passwords is quite another thing. What next, are companies going to want to be allowed to post under their employees’ names? And possibly give great reviews for the company, while smearing other companies? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/11 "2012-03-23T03:51:51Z")
My response would be, “I don’t remember my Facebook password because I never use it.” Then I would immediately file that company along with the one that told me flat out at the interview that I would be subject to lie detector tests at any time. My response then was, “This must be a real shithole to work in.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/12 "2012-03-23T03:57:23Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I am gobsmacked that anyone, anywhere, thinks that this is a good idea. If a company wants to check someone’s public social media page, that’s one thing. But demanding passwords is quite another thing. **What next, are companies going to want to be allowed to post under their employees’ names?** And possibly give great reviews for the company, while smearing other companies? That was my thought. You’re actually giving a stranger the ability to alter the content and even change the password thus locking out the user. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/13 "2012-03-23T04:02:54Z")
I know a guy who didn’t get a TEMP job because they didn’t like hid Facebook profile. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/14 "2012-03-23T04:06:24Z")
Any employer asking for access to your facebook account is already in violation of federal and state laws, considering that they are prohibited from asking questions like “are you married?” “do you have any children?” etc, which is information that is probably on your facebook account. So in such a situation, I would say, “I’m sorry but I openly disclose information on my facebook page that would be illegal for you to ask for, so I can’t provide you with that information and I would suggest that you stop asking for it in the future with other applicants who may take you to court over it.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/15 "2012-03-23T04:36:59Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I am gobsmacked that anyone, anywhere, thinks that this is a good idea. If a company wants to check someone’s public social media page, that’s one thing. But demanding passwords is quite another thing. What next, are companies going to want to be allowed to post under their employees’ names? And possibly give great reviews for the company, while smearing other companies? Enjoy the gob what smacks you, **Lynn Bodoni**. Excerpt from OP of thread from 05/01/2009: > [@Can't mention employer on Facebook (legal issues?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-mention-employer-on-facebook-legal-issues/495028/1): > > Here’s the real wrinkle to this situation. Last week I got an email saying that [company] wants each of its employees with a Facebook account to “friend” the company’s new Facebook site to promote its new project online and get it advertised via social networking. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea before. But, given this memo, I have to say I’m inclined to say, “Sorry, then I can’t connect my personal site with the company site. You can’t expect to use my personal contacts through the site to promote the business and then also limit what I can say on my site. If you want a separation between business and personal, then you need to keep it consistently separate. Not just when it’s convenient for you.” > > Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/16 "2012-03-23T04:53:06Z")
I have a feeling that this is even more stunningly stupid than anyone has yet speculated. When you visit a Facebook page, you are prompted to log in with ID and password. It’s the VISITOR – such as your prospective employer’s Human Resources staff – who is being asked to log in. Under _THEIR_ ID, not that of the page’s owner. That they are asking for the applicant’s ID suggests that they have no idea how Facebook works. Logging in and being friended by the applicant would support all nosiness desires; they have no need to log in as you, with the ability to alter or destroy your page. Not to mention (as Eva Luna upthread already has) violating the privacy of your other Facebook friends. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/17 "2012-03-23T05:00:28Z")
> [@FeAudrey](#): > > I have a feeling that this is even more stunningly stupid than anyone has yet speculated. > > When you visit a Facebook page, you are prompted to log in with ID and password. > > It’s the VISITOR – such as your prospective employer’s Human Resources staff – who is being asked to log in. Under _THEIR_ ID, not that of the page’s owner. > > \*\*That they are asking for the applicant’s ID suggests that they have no idea how Facebook works. > \*\* > Logging in and being friended by the applicant would support all nosiness desires; they have no need to log in as you, with the ability to alter or destroy your page. Not to mention (as Eva Luna upthread already has) violating the privacy of your other Facebook friends. I think they do know. By logging in as the owner, they can see what might have been hidden from a casual visitor. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/18 "2012-03-23T05:13:00Z")
The only appropriate response to that request is to tell company officials to go fuck themselves. Any company that asks for such info should be reported, investigated and heavily fined. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/19 "2012-03-23T05:50:33Z")
> [@FeAudrey](#): > > Logging in and being friended by the applicant would support all nosiness desires; they have no need to log in as you, with the ability to alter or destroy your page. Not to mention (as Eva Luna upthread already has) violating the privacy of your other Facebook friends. No it wouldn’t. If the applicant even felt obligated to friend the hiring manager, s/he just needs to drop them on their “Restricted” friend list. The latest Pew Research study is showing a strong uptick in privacy savvy among social media users lately, so few people share things publicly anymore (if they did to begin with). So if the hiring manager is “Restricted” they basically see nothing but your profile picture and some “X is now friends with Y” updates – IOW exactly what they’d see by not being friended. This would be why they’re asking for the applicant’s password – they want to bypass their privacy settings and see everything they’ve done on Facebook ever. WhyNot and drewtwo99 nailed it, and thanks. Given that I now have a certification in social media marketing, no one would believe me if I claimed not to use Facebook (or they’d think I was lousy at my job). Just in case someone asks me, I now have ammo to fire back at them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/20 "2012-03-23T07:00:57Z")
I think the best response is “I assume this question is a test of my ethics and ability to keep keegally confidential information safe. My answer to this test question is; no, you may not” If it’s a test, you pass. If they’re in earnest, you don’t want that job. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569.md?page=2)