# 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:** 2
**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, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/21 "2012-03-23T08:27:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > …keegally… Legally. Grumblekeyboard ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/22 "2012-03-23T08:39:20Z")
I remember years ago when a few companies started what I felt were outrageous policies of restricting what legal substances their employees could consume on their off time, namely alcohol and nicotine. Testing positive for either would get you fired, they didn’t care if you had a glass of wine with dinner no alcohol. Some places did periodic credit checks and if yours had dipped too low since they hired you they would fire you, you’ve become a security risk after all. Well what next you know? Maybe they’ll ask for your credit card records to make sure you’re a wise spender and not ordering illegal items, just give us your [mint.com](http://mint.com) username and password please! US employers have been on a roll with this stuff for years. Oh and if you are in a right to work state in the USA and not a protected class you are fucked, your employer could ask you to dress up like Bugs Bunny on every third Monday of the month and if you refuse bye bye. Or at least that is how it seems to be:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/23 "2012-03-23T10:53:51Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > “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?” That was my first thought as well. If they’re not allowed to ask me how old I am and whether I have kids, how in hell are they allowed to ask me to reveal that information through Facebook? You can find me on there if you look me up, and I’m ok with that, but **I** choose what you can see that way. What HR department thought this was a good idea? Someone’s going to end up very, very sued over this. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/24 "2012-03-23T11:13:17Z")
Before I retired, I held a security clearance based on a background investigation that included interviews with coworkers and neighbors. At no time was I asked about social media accounts, usernames, email addresses - if it’s good enough for the gummint, it should be good enough for anyone. Then again, it could just be that the gummint is slow to consider social media, etc, as important… in any event, I don’t have a Facebook account, and I’m surely not going to tell a potential employer that my imaginary internet friends know me as FairyChatMom. I have a “normal” email account to segregate real life from my playgrounds. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/25 "2012-03-23T11:27:40Z")
> [@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? Do they want my bank sites’ passwords too? I’d be at the nearest sindical office so fast there would be a sonic boom. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/26 "2012-03-23T11:30:53Z")
This probably happened once with some small shitty little company you never heard of and probably wouldn’t want to work for anyway and now it’s “OMG! Employers want your Facebook page!” ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/27 "2012-03-23T11:36:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > This probably happened once with some small shitty little company you never heard of and probably wouldn’t want to work for anyway and now it’s “OMG! Employers want your Facebook page!” State of Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/28 "2012-03-23T11:42:18Z")
So now we have to worry about which of our FB friends may be being forced to give access to their accounts to their employers, thus violating our privacy. People send private messages on FB. This is like being asked to tap your phone. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/29 "2012-03-23T11:42:22Z")
My answer would be along the lines of WhyNot’s and Chimeras. “I’m sorry, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It would open you up to potential liability. It would be a violation of terms of service. And because, like many people, I reuse passwords across a common theme, it would open me up to identity theft - including my bank accounts, credit card accounts.” The story I heard on NPR was about a State of Maryland Corrections Officer. Formerly employed by them, he left to attend school. He reapplied, they wanted to check his Facebook account for “potential gang involvement” He actually did give them his password and was rehired, but has since reconsidered the appropriateness of them asking. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/30 "2012-03-23T12:09:36Z")
When I was being hired by Verizon Wireless, I had to provide their HR office with paystubs from my previous two employers. From whom I made under $10/hr anyhow as these were crappy part time college jobs. Why? Because. I was very close to telling them to fuck off, but I needed that job. And they must have needed to verify my claim on my application that I previously made squat. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/31 "2012-03-23T12:27:33Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > 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. I’m with you: we’d lose out on job opportunities because we’re weird, i.e. neither of us has a blog or an account on myspace/facebook/twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/32 "2012-03-23T13:04:17Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > 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.” It’s a good answer for the nosy would-be employer, but I’m not sure I agree with your conclusion. First, I’m fairly certain (although open to correction on the point) that it’s not the asking of the question that is illegal. The illegality comes from discriminating on the basis of the answer. Obviously, the best way to insulate your company from claims that it discriminates on the basis of, say, marital status, is to show that you don’t ask any questions about marital status. But it’s not illegal to ask. Just foolish. But this distinction brings me to my second, and main, point. Questions that may incidentally reveal information about protected class information in the course of uncovering legitimate information are permitted. For example, an interviewer may ask about a gap in work history, even though the answer might reveal time off to have children. For that reason, it’s not at all clear to me that these questions are illegal --thus the Blumenthal proposed legislation. In my view, the only appropriate answer to such a question would be, “It’s clear that I wouldn’t be a good match for this kind of corporate culture; thanks for your time,” followed by an exit. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/33 "2012-03-23T13:06:27Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Any company that asks for such info should be reported, investigated and heavily fined. Um… after passing laws that allow such, of course? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/34 "2012-03-23T13:48:37Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > When I was being hired by Verizon Wireless, I had to provide their HR office with paystubs from my previous two employers. From whom I made under $10/hr anyhow as these were crappy part time college jobs. Why? Because. I was very close to telling them to fuck off, but I needed that job. And they must have needed to verify my claim on my application that I previously made squat. I don’t think I even have paystubs from my last two employers. How long do people keep that kind of stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/35 "2012-03-23T13:50:42Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Um… after passing laws that allow such, of course? It’s a wonderful idea just as it is, why spoil it by making it legal? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/36 "2012-03-23T13:51:44Z")
**Bricker** , Are there legal issues with them asking you to violate FaceBook’s terms of service? Are there issues with them asking you to violate the privacy of your friends and family, who may be posting things that they only intend certain people to see? Do I, as a FB user, have an expectation that my FB friends won’t share their passwords with random strangers? Those aren’t rhetorical questions, I’m genuinely curious. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/37 "2012-03-23T14:19:34Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > The story I heard on NPR was about a State of Maryland Corrections Officer. Formerly employed by them, he left to attend school. He reapplied, they wanted to check his Facebook account for “potential gang involvement” He actually did give them his password and was rehired, but has since reconsidered the appropriateness of them asking. I’m really enjoying the image of gangs now organizing things through facebook. “Joe Smith just joined the group ‘Crips 4 Life’” “Joe Smith will be attending the event ‘Drive by shooting at 7-11’ on March 29th, 2012” ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/38 "2012-03-23T15:03:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Um… after passing laws that allow such, of course? Doesn’t this arguably fall under the purview of the Fourth Amendment? After all, it’s not too far removed from tapping someone’s phone or opening their mail. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/39 "2012-03-23T15:29:34Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I’m really enjoying the image of gangs now organizing things through facebook. > > “Joe Smith just joined the group ‘Crips 4 Life’” > “Joe Smith will be attending the event ‘Drive by shooting at 7-11’ on March 29th, 2012” I got a good chuckle out of that, but believe it or not, gangs are actually using Twitter and Facebook to organize crimes. Last summer’s rage were the [criminal Flash Mobs](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0803/Flash-robs-How-Twitter-is-being-twisted-for-criminal-gain-VIDEO) organized on twitter and Facebook that pulled off everything from convenience store robberies to random attacks on tourists. Police are trying to [infiltrate Facebook groups](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/02/gangs-use-of-twitter-facebook_n_445551.html) to discover criminal plots. And [all](http://www.theroot.com/group-arrested-crime-photos-facebook) [sorts](http://thefw.com/teen-boasts-about-crime-on-facebook/) [of](http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/teenager-faces-jail-after-he-admits-flooding-library-1-2616198) [bonehead](http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/12/31/suspect-in-deadly-shooting-allegedly-updated-facebook-after-crime/) [criminals](http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Cops-Robber-bragged-of-crime-on-Facebook-2258513.php) get caught because they post the details of their crimes to their Facebook pages. Unfortunately, people also inadvertently commit alleged crimes by posting on Facebook. A [Florida teenager](http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/pinellas/facebook-post-criminal-charges-122911) was suspended from school and arrested after musing that an unknown person who keyed her car would experience bad karma. A [man who signed up for Facebook](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1565048/Man-jailed-over-Facebook-message.html) and used the default option of inviting everyone in his address book to be his friend was arrested for violating a restraining order when one of the invitations went to his ex-wife. ---
**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, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/40 "2012-03-23T15:51:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Um… after passing laws that allow such, of course? Would you please come back to this thread and tell us what laws allow companies to violate Facebook’s legal TOS? Thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569.md?page=3)