ACLU: Facebook password isn't your boss' business
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This article makes the argument that your Facebook password is none of your boss' business. The American Civil Liberties Union has made it publicly known that more and more employers are asking for job applicants' social media accounts, such as Facebook. Attorney Catherine Crump from the ACLU states that it is an invasion of privacy to use someone’s Facebook account as a consideration in the application process or a term of their employment and also that people are entitled to their own private lives outside of the workplace. Many cases have become known where an employer has asked for a Facebook password, or required that applicants send friend requests to employees at the company. Robert Collins of Baltimore was told that giving his boss his Facebook password was a condition of his re-certification as a correctional officer. Collins did not want to, but did end up sharing his password so that he could keep his job. Collins asked his boss why he needed the password, gaining an answer of that he needed to look through messages, wall posts, and pictures to make sure that he is not affiliated with a gang. Justin Bassett is a statistician of New York who refused to share his Facebook password during a job interview. The ACLU has found that more companies are starting to ask for social-media passwords and that it is more common among public agencies, such as law enforcement companies. This article is against the practice of companies to ask for a Facebook password, giving the example that it is an invasion of privacy. It is also against Facebook’s Terms of Service to share your password.
I completely agree with this article. Although I did not
know it was against the terms of service that is a valid argument for an
individual to make. If a person wants to use Facebook they need to follow the
conditions of the website, therefore going against them would be unethical.
Companies are encouraging this unethical practice by asking for passwords. I
also believe that a Facebook profile does not always accurately display exactly
how a person is. An applicant or employee should be evaluated by past
experience and how they act in the workplace. The professional resume should be
how an employer evaluates an applicant. People may be great workers and do
great things for the company, therefore what they do outside of work should not
affect their eligibility for employment.
If gaging someone's gang affiliation is dependent upon social media, then that is not a gang that I would be threatened by. Managers and upper-level executives should not base someone's business sustainability on what is posted or even said on a social media website. Time spent on a social media website, such as Facebook, has no direct correlation with employee performance. A boss should not have all of their employees' personal information, simply because what is done at home or on personal time has nothing to do with what goes on at work. Facebook speaks directly on membership privacy, and in the Terms and Conditions directly forbid the sharing of a member's security password. In the hiring process, one could understand the necessity in the human resource field to obtain the most "professional" employees possible. But, on the contrary, after being hired, the need to constantly check up on employees relinquishes. I do not believe that I should ever have to share my Facebook or any other social media website to be considered for a position within a company or to keep my job.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is wrong to have to give out you Facebook password to your boss. There is no reason that they should even want to have your password. To me it is an invasion of privacy and very unethical for the company. Especially since the company would be breaking Facebook policy about not giving out passwords to others. Companies now-a-days are looking into a person’s social media accounts to see if they are fit for the job they applied for but, in reality everyone has a separate life outside of the work place. There are times people need to be serious and times for people to have fun and enjoy their own lives and that is where the line should be drawn between a work environment and one’s personal environment. People should be serious during work and keep their private lives to themselves not bringing it into work. Companies should not require its employees to hand over their Facebook passwords because it is breaking several civil laws. These companies need to be stopped for doing this or there needs to be some law that constitutes either giving companies the right to do this or to not do it therefore reducing all controversy concerning the issue.
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