Proposed Bill Would Outlaw Facebook Account Access As Employment Requirement

Greg Bernhardt

Last night in class, as we were discussing privacy issues, which is always a hot topic. Someone raised the very disturbing news that employers have begun to demand access to applicants’ Facebook profiles as a condition of considering them for … Continue reading →

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Evo

Don't post stupid stuff online.

Pyrrhus

Anything you post in social sites such as Facebook is no longer your property. It says so on the Terms you agree when you open the account. This is why the best you can do is to avoid any social networking sites.

Kholdstare

Ban the Facebook - Its a complete waste of time. Physicsforums is way better.

emailanmol

Lol.
I would disagree with point that facebook is a waste of time.

I met so many of my childhood friends whom I had totally lost contact with.
Its an amazing privelege to know them after years.Facebook has several merits but has its downsides too.
Like employers asking for access to account is like insane. Its employers fault not facebook's :P

Pengwuino

Agreed. Facebook should be banned.

Aziraphale

@Evo: I wrote that article (it's from my blog). What specifically about the post is stupid? How could I make it less so?

@Pyrrhus: That's not exactly true. If you read it closely, you don't give up ALL intellectual property rights to your content when you post it, you just give Facebook a worldwide license to use your content so they can display it to people who want to see it. It's really more about the technicalities of providing the service they do than a malevolent scheme to steal your ideas. Furthermore, your suggestion for avoiding social networking sites also implies that people should avoid sites like PF, a place where you've posted >2,000 times. You clearly like the idea of a site where people can share ideas about physics, science and other topics, so why hate on Facebook just because it caters to an audience that isn't so specific?

jtbell

I'm pretty sure she was making a general statement about people posting stuff that reflects poorly on them, and not referring to you at all.

A big difference between Facebook and PF is that we don't require people to identify themselves with their real names, addresses and other personal information.

chemisttree

For a second I though she was referring to Greg's post. Only a second!

Aziraphale

Of course. I see it now. [wipes egg off face]

jtbell

Facebook threatens to sue employers who pull this trick:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/tech/s...html?hpt=hp_t3

chrisbaird

The last thing we need are more laws. Isn't this what unions are supposed to be for (or used to be), to protect employers from unfair employees? The job interviewee should just have the courage to say, "the details of my personal life will not effect my job performance, so it is none of your business." A good employer will like that kind of a response.

Evo

Oh no, sorry, I was referring to people posting stupid personal stuff online, like FB. I've been telling people for years that even if you delete it, you have no idea where it could be copied. Nothing against you. I have a bad habit of being WAY too brief with my posts, after all, *I* know what I mean.

Pengwuino

But you're not an employee yet at the job interview, which this action is suppose to be for :). And I think most people realize that the details of your personal life CAN affect ones job performance. That's why you won't be surprised to see anyone who works with money having their credit checked, people who work with kids or in important government jobs getting a background check, and tons of jobs have drug tests.

JonDE

Going along these lines a little, without hopefully going too far off topic. I had a friend who got fired for posting something on facebook after a hard day at work. It was copied by a customer and sent to corporate, she was terminated the next day.

SHISHKABOB

imagine if she had gone into the lunch room and said the same things very loudly in conversation with some people

it's the same exact thing, Facebook is as public as private as you make it. If the person has friends that she doesn't trust... then she should be more careful with what she says on facebook, since lots of people can see it.

IMO: facebook is pretty dumb, I mostly think this because I'm not really a socializing type of dude and am the opposite of interested in meeting old friends that... I am no longer friends with.

turbo

A young woman at my wife's place of employment ranted on Facebook about how "stupid" her co-workers are and how they "couldn't even manage to get jobs at WalMart". No contest - she was gone the next day.