Employers Asking Job Seekers for Facebook Passwords

You might not have much to hide on the private side of your facebook page or on your twitter account or personal email, but are you willing to give away your right to privacy to get a job?

Would you want your bosses reading your sexy love notes or even your mushy e-mails to mom? If not, you might have to think twice about where you apply for a job.

Employers have been peeking at social network profiles for a while now, but some are now going even further asking for passwords so they can look at every shred of private information as well.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer interviewed one legal expert who said, "It's akin to asking for someone's house keys" and calls it "a [major] privacy violation. It's also a violation of Facebook's terms of service, but that hasn't stopped the process which has generated lawsuits in two states.

Personally, I post to FB and to Twitter and want the world to see those posts and tweets. Those are already public property in the social media domain. But I wouldn't give access to my personal information and messages. If a potential employer asked for access to my private live and info, I'd have to let them know - I prefer to keep my private live - private!

Tell us your thoughts? What you do think of employers asking for social media and email passwords?

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Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer