Social Intelligence background checks face scrutiny

September 26, 2011

blog post in October 2010 and it seems, almost 12 months later, their practices are still under question. Are social media background checks ethical? And can you perform them without practicing illegal discrimination? The Senators ask a list of questions, including several aimed at discovering whether Social Intelligence is able to access information that users did not intend to broadcast to the public at large. For instance, the senators ask whether Social Intelligence has ever tried to create a profile with the same alma mater as an applicant in order to see information limited to people within the same university network. In addition, the senators are questioning whether Social Intelligence violates users’ copyrights by including photos from Flickr and Picasa in background reports sent to employers. “Does your company obtain permission from the owners of these pictures to use, sell, or modify them?” the lawmakers ask.

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Social media background checks have been a topic of discussion for a while now and, with these new allegations, it seems it will continue to be. Whether it’s simply an employer checking a job applicant’s Facebook account or someone like Social Intelligence running a professional report, it will be interesting to see the developments that the future holds.]]>

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