Would you give up your passwords to get a job?

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  • libby328
    libby328 Posts: 287 Member
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    Heck no! I am in management and strongly fight against invading employees privacy! After all management or not I am still someone's employee! I can't believe how out of hand this is getting in the world! What happened to being free? Just a thing of the past now I guess :(
  • libby328
    libby328 Posts: 287 Member
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    Is that even legal? Something tells me it's not.


    Yes, the story said it IS legal... FOR NOW. There may be upcoming legislation to make it illegal.

    Yeah, then I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody going to court if companies honestly think it's worth their time to pursue access to personal accounts. Interesting to see technology update the law. Hopefully, as people continue to put more of themselves in public view, they don't lose respect for the concept of right to privacy.


    I read somewhere yesterday that although it isn't legal it is not punishable or something stupid...

    There is a strong argument that in the US, at least, it is not legal. A potential employer may not ask you for your age or marital status. Requesting your Facebook password gives them both. I would encourage people who are denied jobs over this to contact the ACLU and similar organizations. Those rights-based organizations will eventually find the right candidate to back in a lawsuit as part of the strategy for making this a clearly illegal practice.
  • BeautifulRedButterfly
    BeautifulRedButterfly Posts: 316 Member
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    not really. I need my own privacy.
    but, i have nothing bad or anything to hide on any accounts. if i needed money SUPER bad, then ya, id give my passwords to take care of my family
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    It is not illegal for a company to ask for passwords to your social media accounts, nor is it illegal (at least in right-to-work states) for a company to fire you for not giving them said passwords. The real question is why anyone would be willing to work for a company that thought any of this information was their business. They have the right to ask, and you have the right to say "Screw you. I'll find work elsewhere."

    I am disappointed, but not at all surprised, that people are turning to the government for a remedy to this problem, i.e. a law to prevent companies from requiring things like this. The government has no business regulating this sort of behavior in PRIVATE companies. If enough people would grow a backbone and refuse to accept this kind of treatment from their employers, it would stop soon enough without an act of Congress. These companies would come to realize they can't make any money with a solid workforce, and they can't have a solid workforce if they demand to know what their employees are doing 24 hours a day.

    At my last job, my boss wanted all the employees to sign a statement that we would not socialize with other employees outside of work (even after we left the company and went to work somewhere else), that we would not discuss certain things with co-workers while we were AT work, etc. I refused to sign it and told him to fire me if he didn't trust me. Several other employees followed suit. Nobody got fired because he would've been up a creek without a paddle if he had terminated all of us, and he eventually decided it was in his best interst to mind his own freaking business.
  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
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    Short answer: No! What a cheek!! :mad:
  • smsinger75
    smsinger75 Posts: 253 Member
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    Absolutely not, and I personally think it's ridiculous for a company to even look at your profile to determine whether they are going to hire you. If my background check is clean, if I have no arrest records, if I have good recommendations and if I am qualified for the job that should be all that matters.

    Exactly! I would never give up my passwords to anyone. They are private for a reason. I have nothing to hide, but what is in my private, personal life is just that. As long as it doesn't affect my professional life, then it should not be their business to be nosing around in what I do on my own time. So not NO, but HE** NO!
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I am "friends" with my MIL on FB and I have set so she can't see anything. Why? Because she is nosey and doesn't need to know every little detail about our life. Granted I don't post much on FB anymore, but there is no way that I would EVER in a million bajillion eons give my PW to any potential or current employer. It is none of their business. The PW gives them access to PRIVATE messages and chat conversations. You know stuff that's only between you and one other person.....

    If this ever becomes standard practice, I will be deleting my account.
  • lour441
    lour441 Posts: 543 Member
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    It depends on the job. If I had a contract and was paid for providing that information then absolutely. Information is worth money. If you want that information you have to pay.
  • Firefighter_Jay
    Firefighter_Jay Posts: 426 Member
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    Nope, but I'd allow them to "friend" me so they could see what I was posting (not that I have anything to hide).

    Agreed. We have very strict SOG's about social media sites in our Department.. Thefuzz and I work jobs that are probably drastically different from most of you, and we need to always be aware of how we present ourselves. Sometimes it's nice to have in the back of my mind that what I'm about to post one of the officers might see.

    With stories popping up all over the net about firefighters/EMS/Police getting fired or sued because of Facebook, it just makes sense.

    Now if I worked fast food, or retail, I'd have to weigh what's more important, my privacy on Facebook, or my family eating.

    One more thing, if you are stupid enough to post anything on social media sites that you don't want public, you deserve what you get.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I don't understand why it's any different from rooting through someone's mail or tapping their phone lines. I'm unemployed and desperately seeking a job, but there's no way I'd give my passwords.
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    Seems like many companies are now asking for your passwords to Facebook, Twitter.... and even your EMAIL account if you want to have a shot at getting hired. I'm self employed so I don't have that worry, but I think if I needed a job I would still tell them to go to hell.... What's next? Will they ask for keys to your home? Some even make you friend the HR department.

    BTW, many companies now hire a company to "stalk" your activity on the internet.... including Sears. Sears claims that it is a bonus for YOU, as they might find out that you are qualified for jobs that you didn't even know you were qualified for..... what a bunch of crap that is. You know they want to see if you're doing jello shots with your clothes off.

    Hahahahaha you crack me up!!! LOVE the part about the jello shots with your clothes off!!! :laugh: :laugh:
  • ksabo1963
    ksabo1963 Posts: 20
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    Actually they can turn you down and just say you were not qualified.....so prove it was because you refused to provide them with your passowrds.....corporation are looking for lemmings....nothing more nothing yes....
  • ScatteredThoughts
    ScatteredThoughts Posts: 3,562 Member
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    One more thing, if you are stupid enough to post anything on social media sites that you don't want public, you deserve what you get.

    Very true. There are many people who pay no heed to what they put out there, or who might view it.

    Such as in this case: http://blogs.eweek.com/careers/content001/big_brother/how_not_to_get_a_job_via_twitter.html
  • Firefighter_Jay
    Firefighter_Jay Posts: 426 Member
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    Hahahahaha you crack me up!!! LOVE the part about the jello shots with your clothes off!!! :laugh: :laugh:

    Whatcha doin this afternoon? I may have some all ready to go! :drinker:
  • CountryBoy65
    CountryBoy65 Posts: 908 Member
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    Seems like many companies are now asking for your passwords to Facebook, Twitter.... and even your EMAIL account if you want to have a shot at getting hired. I'm self employed so I don't have that worry, but I think if I needed a job I would still tell them to go to hell.... What's next? Will they ask for keys to your home? Some even make you friend the HR department.

    BTW, many companies now hire a company to "stalk" your activity on the internet.... including Sears. Sears claims that it is a bonus for YOU, as they might find out that you are qualified for jobs that you didn't even know you were qualified for..... what a bunch of crap that is. You know they want to see if you're doing jello shots with your clothes off.

    I work in Compliance and Investigations for a pretty big company and I have never heard of this. I go to trainings and conferences all over the country where employment practices, personnel recording, and etc are discussed and this is completely new to me. I would be very interested to hear of real life examples of this....to see if it is actually true or just another urban legend. Does anyone know of any documented examples of this actually happening?
  • felice03
    felice03 Posts: 2,732 Member
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    i have never heard of this....
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    If I post something "out there" for anyone to see and a potential employer finds it, fair game.

    But what I choose to keep private behind a password is none of their business.

    Like others, I'm careful what I put "out there," even stuff that you would have to hack my account or be a "friend" to see. But it's about principle, not about what I have to hide.
  • luv_lea
    luv_lea Posts: 1,094 Member
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    I rarely post things on my FB, or get any kind of emails outside of junk and forwards. But regardless, no, I would never give my passwords out. To me that just seems like a huge violation of privacy.
  • Laceybaby1967
    Laceybaby1967 Posts: 82 Member
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    I've heard of this; it was on our radio a few days ago.

    No job is worth my privacy......
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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    No.

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