Illinois bans employer requests for social media passwords

Sen. Blumenthal vowed to put a stop to privacy-invading Facebook checks by employers a few months ago, it seems states are taking notice. The law, signed by Governor Pat Quinn last week, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013, and bans requests for log-ins and passwords during background checks and throughout employment. In addition, it amends the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. The law is one that most people will be happy to see implemented, and the general consensus among the majority is that such a practice was not necessary or particularly beneficial. Companies have long used applicants’ social media presence as part of their vetting process, but most have limited to what can be found through publicly available posts, which does not include most Facebook activity, which is usually private. As Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan noted, this practice does not just violate the “privacy expectations and security” of the job applicant, but also that of everyone with whom the applicant is friends on the social network. “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,” writes Egan. ”But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating.  For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don’t hire that person.” Egan adds that Facebook will “take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.”]]>