err0r Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Facebook took a strong stance against employers who request account passwords from potential employees on Friday, saying it would “take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policy makers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action.” Now the social network seems to be softening its stance. In a clarifying message sent to reporters, a Facebook spokesperson issued this statement: 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. While we do not have any immediate plans to take legal action against any specific employers, we look forward to engaging with policy makers and other stakeholders, to help better safeguard the privacy of our users. The company’s original announcement, penned by the company’s chief privacy officer Erin Egan, inspired headlines such as “Facebook Threatens Legal Action Against Employers Asking for Passwords.” The follow-up statement casts this threat further into the future. An Associated Press report last week revealed that some employers have asked potential employees to hand over usernames and passwords to social media accounts. The practice was prevalent enough to have inspired proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would forbid public agencies from asking for such information. Since the report was published, two U.S. senators have asked the Attorney General to investigate whether requesting Facebook passwords during job interviews violates federal law. One of those Senators, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) plans to introduce a bill that would prevent companies from snooping on employees’ social media profiles, and California State Senator Leland Yee announced he would introduce a similar bill in California’s senate. Source: Mashable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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