7 ms·

"Should Employers Be Allowed to Ask for Your Facebook Login?" I say yes, they should be allowed, and you should be allowed to refuse, and they should be allowe

by bugsy 16y ago

"Should Employers Be Allowed to Ask for Your Facebook Login?" I say yes, they should be allowed, and you should be allowed to refuse, and they should be allowed to not hire, and you should be allowed to find a better place to work and breath a sigh of relief since you just dodged a bullet.

natch 16y ago
What recourse do you think that leaves for people whose Facebook friends do not refuse? If one of my Facebook friends allows this, they are, unbeknownst to me, sharing information that I consider private with that employer. I choose to put certain information on Facebook, trusting Facebook, its partners, and my friends with that information. I do not choose to trust random employees of random prospective places of employment with that same information, so this is a violation of my privacy expectations as a user of Facebook, and as a friend. "You shouldn't put information into Facebook if you are afraid of that information getting out." I don't. But people (including you, by your response) do not fully understand the risks they are taking.
- dantheman 16y ago
  What stops your friend from copying your facebook data and publishing it on the web?
  - mikeg8 16y ago
    nothing "stops" them... it's called trust. why would a friend do that
    - jterce 16y ago
      Right, but if that trust was valid then you could likewise count on them not allowing an employer, or any third party.
      - natch 16y ago
        Not if they overlook the problem, as many of the first posters in this discussion did.
  - natch 16y ago
    Courtesy. More importantly, if I don't want to have someone as my Facebook friend, I have that choice. But I don't have a choice about what policies might be in place at employers my Facebook friends might consider. If you think it through, you begin to see why we have laws related to protecting privacy.
- bugsy 16y ago
  What risks? I said clearly that they should ask, people should refuse, and then walk away. Let them find anyone competent. This is within the people's ability to control. Just say no. You can do this as a person. Say no. Explain why. Mock them too.
beoba 16y ago
Should that also be the case for age, sex, orientation, religion, etc? If not, what makes those so special?
hackinthebochs 16y ago
No, they should not be allowed to even ask. The problem is that when some people are allowed to give up certain rights for a potential advantage in hiring, then it becomes the de facto standard that everyone has to give up that right in order to have a chance. In most industries the employer holds all the card, so that everyone will just go along with it because they feel they must in order to be considered. You're naive if you think the "market" will correct itself such that these types of invasions of privacy are eliminated. When we're talking about people's livelihood you can't expect them to act in such a way that maximizes their rights. They act in a way that maximizes their livelihood, potentially giving up rights that they otherwise would not have. Government is the only thing able to keep employers from having that power.
tzs 16y ago
How about login information to your email account(s)? Do you think they should be able to ask for that and refuse to hire if you refuse to capitulate? After all, your correspondence will give them lots of useful character information about you that would be useful for an employer. How about your online banking login information? Where do you draw the line? Is there any aspect of your private life that they should not be able to ask about and refuse to hire if you do not provide access?

by bugsy 16y ago

natch 16y ago

What recourse do you think that leaves for people whose Facebook friends do not refuse? If one of my Facebook friends allows this, they are, unbeknownst to me, sharing information that I consider private with that employer. I choose to put certain information on Facebook, trusting Facebook, its partners, and my friends with that information. I do not choose to trust random employees of random prospective places of employment with that same information, so this is a violation of my privacy expectations as a user of Facebook, and as a friend. "You shouldn't put information into Facebook if you are afraid of that information getting out." I don't. But people (including you, by your response) do not fully understand the risks they are taking.

dantheman 16y ago
What stops your friend from copying your facebook data and publishing it on the web?
- mikeg8 16y ago
  nothing "stops" them... it's called trust. why would a friend do that
  - jterce 16y ago
    Right, but if that trust was valid then you could likewise count on them not allowing an employer, or any third party.
    - natch 16y ago
      Not if they overlook the problem, as many of the first posters in this discussion did.
- natch 16y ago
  Courtesy. More importantly, if I don't want to have someone as my Facebook friend, I have that choice. But I don't have a choice about what policies might be in place at employers my Facebook friends might consider. If you think it through, you begin to see why we have laws related to protecting privacy.
bugsy 16y ago
What risks? I said clearly that they should ask, people should refuse, and then walk away. Let them find anyone competent. This is within the people's ability to control. Just say no. You can do this as a person. Say no. Explain why. Mock them too.

beoba 16y ago

Should that also be the case for age, sex, orientation, religion, etc? If not, what makes those so special?

hackinthebochs 16y ago

No, they should not be allowed to even ask. The problem is that when some people are allowed to give up certain rights for a potential advantage in hiring, then it becomes the de facto standard that everyone has to give up that right in order to have a chance. In most industries the employer holds all the card, so that everyone will just go along with it because they feel they must in order to be considered. You're naive if you think the "market" will correct itself such that these types of invasions of privacy are eliminated. When we're talking about people's livelihood you can't expect them to act in such a way that maximizes their rights. They act in a way that maximizes their livelihood, potentially giving up rights that they otherwise would not have. Government is the only thing able to keep employers from having that power.

tzs 16y ago

How about login information to your email account(s)? Do you think they should be able to ask for that and refuse to hire if you refuse to capitulate? After all, your correspondence will give them lots of useful character information about you that would be useful for an employer. How about your online banking login information? Where do you draw the line? Is there any aspect of your private life that they should not be able to ask about and refuse to hire if you do not provide access?