Facebook: Employers have no business asking for your Facebook passwords

We are hearing more and more reports about companies going through Facebook profiles of prospective candidates to find out more about them.

Facebook: Employers have no business asking for your Facebook passwords

A recent trend is more troubling. Some reports claim that employers are now asking for Facebook login information from prospective employees to go through their accounts to god knows what.

Facebook has posted a blog post condemning this behavior. The company said that employers have no business seeking such details from their employees (and prospective employees).

The company said:

As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job. And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job. That’s why we’ve made it a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to share or solicit a Facebook password.

We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s right the thing to do. But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating. For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don’t hire that person.

Employers also may not have the proper policies and training for reviewers to handle private information. If they don’t—and actually, even if they do-the employer may assume liability for the protection of the information they have seen or for knowing what responsibilities may arise based on different types of information (e.g. if the information suggests the commission of a crime).