# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/61 "2012-03-23T20:32:52Z")
Well first I’d ask the interviewer how to spell his or her name and then I’d thank them for their time. Wonder if anybody is keeping track of the companies doing this? ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/62 "2012-03-23T21:06:41Z")
I dunno, but I’d call holding out a job offer to be duress. How many people would kiss off a job in exchange for privacy? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/63 "2012-03-23T22:21:20Z")
I would absolutely and unequivocally tell them no. I think I \*still \*would say no, if I had a Facebook page. ---
**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, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/64 "2012-03-23T23:13:27Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I dunno, but I’d call holding out a job offer to be duress. How many people would kiss off a job in exchange for privacy? Who cares? I offer you fifty million dollars to sleep with me. How many people would kiss off an offer like that? Not too many, I imagine, even not accounting for my general studliness. But it’s not duress, at least in the criminal context, and I’m pretty sure it’s not in the civil context, to accept that offer. Duress typically has to be _unlawful_ pressure applied to a person to perform an act he would not ordinarily perform. ---
**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 24, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/65 "2012-03-24T00:12:46Z")
If your choice is between accepting the job and not being able to eat or pay the rent, I’d say that’s duress, certainly in the common usage of the word if not legally. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/66 "2012-03-24T00:16:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*“BioWare employees will never ask for your password.” \* Unless you’re applying for a job, of course. ---
**Author:** ![OldLobsterClaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb9ed0/32.png) [@OldLobsterClaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldLobsterClaw)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/67 "2012-03-24T00:49:43Z")
Many, if not most companies are using the current job shortage as an excuse to enable the petty little martinets in the personnel departments to exercise there silly little prejudices and crackpot beliefs. Typically, the things that are demanded - including drug testing - have no value as predictors of work performance. Even some little piss-ant companies are acting like IBM did in the fifties and sixties; dictating what kind of car you drive, where you live, what brand of whiskey you drink, who your friends are. The one good thing that might come from this uber-invasiveness and disregard for privacy is that many of the folks rejected by some companies will go to work for companies which value high performance, innovation and a propensity to question “conventional wisdom.” Those are the companies that will build the future. I’m very thankful that I’m retired. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/68 "2012-03-24T01:25:21Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > If your choice is between accepting the job and not being able to eat or pay the rent, I’d say that’s duress, certainly in the common usage of the word if not legally. Right, but since duress arose in the context of whether the company could be heavily fined, I was focusing on the legal aspects of the term. Imagine a woman who can’t pay the rent or buy food. I offer her $5,000 for a night of sex, and she accepts. The next day, she seeks to have me charged with rape, saying that her decision to have sex with me was the result of duress. Valid claim? ---
**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 24, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/69 "2012-03-24T01:51:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Answered the bribery idea above, but this second point is, in my view, pretty solid. If the company has a Facebook page, they would seem to be violating Facebook’s terms by this request. **Unfortunately, the enforcement of that violation is between the company and Facebook; as a third party, you have way to demand that Facebook take some or any action to protect its own TOS.** I wonder if Facebook, as a company with its own interests, would want to actively and vigorously enforce this against such employers on behalf of employess and prospective employees – on the theory that such employers, by demanding passwords, are severely degrading the value of Facebooks properties or brand. If people start avoiding Facebook, or closing their existing accounts, or self-censoring their use of Facebook to appease all present or future prospective employers, or start becoming paranoid and limiting who they friend – that’s all damaging to Facebook value. Facebook might actually care about that. ETA: And, if Facebook should choose that path, certainly they have the financial wherewithal to out-lawyer most other companies they might wish to do some “law” with. ---
**Author:** ![Intolt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ec9cab/32.png) [@Intolt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intolt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/70 "2012-03-24T01:58:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I offer you fifty million dollars to sleep with me. and > [@](#): > > I offer her $5,000 for a night of sex, and she accepts. . Won’t she feel cheap when she learns I held out for 50 million. Just curious, do you do this IRL and do you talk about it on your Facebook Page? Ok, sorry, I couldn’t resist 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/71 "2012-03-24T02:40:10Z")
Has anyone actually experienced this IRL of is this mostly outrage over some edge case reported online? ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/72 "2012-03-24T03:21:23Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Has anyone actually experienced this IRL of is this mostly outrage over some edge case reported online? [Enjoy.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ateqah-khaki/facebook-password_b_1376254.html) > [@](#): > > If there’s any doubt that we need legislation, consider a few more cases that have come to light recently: The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that as of January 1, 2012, “Anyone seeking to become a Virginia state trooper must make available the contents of his or her social media accounts – including private profiles – as part of the department’s extensive background-screening process.” The article goes on to explain that though applicants are not required to provide usernames or passwords, they must provide a listing of any social media account that they are on (including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr), and that during the interview process a background investigator will review the contents of the pages with the applicant. > > On the blog [Tecca.com](http://Tecca.com), there’s a photo (pictured above) said to be of an application form for a clerical position at a North Carolina police department – it includes the line, “Do you have any web page accounts such as Facebook, Myspace, etc…? If so list your username and password.” > > And unfortunately, it seems this problem is broader than just employers. [MSNBC.com](http://MSNBC.com) has reported that “Student-athletes in colleges around the country also are finding out they can no longer maintain privacy in Facebook communications because schools are requiring them to ‘friend’ a coach or compliance officer, giving that person access to their ‘friends-only’ posts.” > . I’ll see if I can’t find earlier cases that were implied, other than the State of Maryland. ETA: well, no, this is not me personally, but I don’t think the states of Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland can be considered “edge cases.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/73 "2012-03-24T04:20:28Z")
> [@OldLobsterClaw](#): > > Typically, the things that are demanded - including drug testing - have no value as predictors of work performance. Even some little piss-ant companies are acting like IBM did in the fifties and sixties; dictating what kind of car you drive, where you live, what brand of whiskey you drink, who your friends are. You’re kidding. :eek::eek::eek: IBM really tried to control their employees lives to that extent? You’ve got to be kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/74 "2012-03-24T04:48:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t know. > > First, it seems clear that the actions would indeed violate Facebook’s [Terms of Service.](http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms) Section3, item 5 says, “You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.” Item 11 says, “You will not facilitate or encourage any violations of this Statement.” Taken together, these two would seem to forbid the practice we’re discussing. Don’t forget Section 4, item 8; > [@](#): > > You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account. ---
**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 24, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/75 "2012-03-24T18:34:20Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I wonder if Facebook, as a company with its own interests, would want to actively and vigorously enforce this against such employers on behalf of employess and prospective employees – on the theory that such employers, by demanding passwords, are severely degrading the value of Facebooks properties or brand. Breaking news: Facebook warns employers to knock it off. > **[Facebook warns employers not to demand passwords](https://www.yahoo.com/news/facebook-warns-employers-not-demand-passwords-141726769.html)** > > Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/76 "2012-03-24T18:48:09Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > You’re kidding. :eek::eek::eek: IBM really tried to control their employees lives to that extent? You’ve got to be kidding. I never heard IBM were _that_ bad, but I do remember hearing in the '80s that they had a ‘company uniform’. From [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM#Working_at_IBM) (footnote link changed to direct link to citation): > [@](#): > > A dark (or gray) suit, white shirt, and a “sincere” tie[sup][[54]](http://books.google.com/books?id=HYvbeQLf_gEC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=%22sincere+tie%22+ibm&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22sincere%20tie%22%20ibm&f=false)[/sup] was the public uniform for IBM employees for most of the 20th century. During IBM’s management transformation in the 1990s, CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. relaxed these codes… I’ve heard anecdotes of employees being disciplined for wearing the wrong colour shoes. ---
**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 24, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/77 "2012-03-24T19:45:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I never heard IBM were _that_ bad, but I do remember hearing in the '80s that they had a ‘company uniform’. From [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM#Working_at_IBM) (footnote link changed to direct link to citation): > > I’ve heard anecdotes of employees being disciplined for wearing the wrong colour shoes. It was also _de rigeur_ that female employees _always_ wear gloves. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/78 "2012-03-24T19:57:46Z")
> [@FeAudrey](#): > > Facebook itself has stepped up to the plate, warning employers not to do this: > > [http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/facebook-warns-employers-dont-ask-for-passwords/](http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/facebook-warns-employers-dont-ask-for-passwords/) > > That "… shutting down applications that abuse their privileges …” that Facebook’s chief privacy officer Erin Egan warns of presumbly means yanking the employer’s Facebook account. I think the applications goes to programs that are being created that companies can dump all of a prospective employee’s social media information in, and then the program will monitor the content of the accounts. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/79 "2012-03-24T21:19:14Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > [Enjoy.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ateqah-khaki/facebook-password_b_1376254.html) I’ll see if I can’t find earlier cases that were implied, other than the State of Maryland. I asked if YOU experienced this at any companies. Did you work at any of the examples? I should note that most of the examples of employers requiring Facebook passwords seem to be local and state level government agencies or academic institutions. Not companies. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569/80 "2012-03-24T21:26:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Imagine a woman who can’t pay the rent or buy food. I offer her $5,000 for a night of sex, and she accepts. If you keep lowering your price like that, you won’t get many takers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employers-now-demanding-job-applicants-facebook-passwords/616569.md?page=5)