Job Applicants Asked for Facebook Passwords

Jodah

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Aug 2, 2008
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I can almost...almost accept asking for the username. Anything beyond that does become a breach of privacy. Yeah yeah, nothing on the internet is private, I know but there is a difference between being able to find the information and demanding it be given to you. Not to mention if you piss them off in some way they now have access to your account and can ruin your social life with the right statements while pretending to be you.
 

maturin

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Jul 20, 2010
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GeoFlux said:
So it's the police department that have done this? The applicants that refuse haven't really got too much choice then, can't imagine them getting very far if they say that it must be illegal and demand something to be done about it.
Eh, it's the sort of thing that gets enforced by courts and regulatory agencies, not armed officers.
 

ProfessorLayton

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Nov 6, 2008
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See I don't have a problem with linking them to my Facebook, but giving them access to it is not ok. I wouldn't want anyone changing anything on my page. This isn't a matter of privacy, it's a matter of identity.
 

Bertinan

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Nov 5, 2008
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It'd be funny if this was some kind of test from this police department or something. Police have so many privacy laws they have to follow, someone who would actually answer this question would probably be willing to violate them.
 

Autumnflame

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Sep 18, 2008
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this is why i have no face book or myspace.
I wonder if a Employed would demand i create one just so i can be watched on it.
then told i have to make updates
 

Eve Charm

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Aug 10, 2011
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"...the words of former News of the World deputy editor Paul McMullen, who very likely summed up a widespread contemporary attitude toward privacy in his testimony at the Leveson Inquiry yesterday. "Privacy is for pedos," he said. "Fundamentally, no one else needs it."

^^
funny they can say things like that when governments basically bussed themselves when wikileaks came out with all their dirty laundry

Patriot act should be turned against the people that voted it in.
 

Sylvine

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Jun 7, 2011
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*scratches head*

I'd expect this is just a ploy to weed out the stupid? Everyone who fills that part in with anything else than "Lol no, You're not getting my password for anything" (paraphrased) gets their application shredded for being too dumb to internet?

Sounds more plausible than them being serious.

~Sylv
 

Sylveria

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Nov 15, 2009
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It's the police, they don't follow the laws, they just occasionally enforce them and make up some new ones when they feel like it.
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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phoenixlink said:
this is why i have no face book or myspace.
I wonder if a Employed would demand i create one just so i can be watched on it.
then told i have to make updates
They'd probably just accuse you of lying to them. If they think you have it, then you have it and any attempts to state otherwise are lies. After all, the police in the UK can lock you up for not telling them something you might not even know [http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/10/uk_police_can_n.html].
 

punipunipyo

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Jan 20, 2011
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so... if it's true that "Privacy is for pedos," and "Fundamentally, no one else needs it." then can we all have your E-mail/Social net account? this guy is a dick, and you know what? he's probably a pedo himself!
 

Towels

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Feb 21, 2010
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If an employer is demanding your password on an application, I think its not a good idea to not work for people like that to begin with. Where would the degrading end?

Also, I find it amusing that people tell "Oh, you don't want a prospective employer to look at your Facebook? Just restrict the privacy of your account! Its that easy." No. It isn't that easy. Keep in mind Facebook reserves the rights to any information you put on it, and can sell it to who they please, unless there's some federal law that prevents it now. (And this American government caring about your privacy? Hahaha)
 

Candidus

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Dec 17, 2009
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Hah. Don't make me choose between employment and privacy, because I'll choose privacy every time. I've got no qualms taking the state's dole money if it won't keep the terms of employment reasonable.
 

mjc0961

YOU'RE a pie chart.
Nov 30, 2009
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Kopikatsu said:
Iron Mal said:
Zachary Amaranth said:
Really? Is it really that hard to figure out why employers would want your social network access while determining if they want to employ you?
Enlighten me then as to why it is exactly that just being allowed to view your account isn't enough and that they vitally require access to your personal online account?

There isn't really a reason for that, being able to look at your Facebook or Myspace I understand (it gives your employer a bit of insight into the individual they're possably going to have working for them) but this reasoning doesn't really extend towards allowing them to actually log into your account.
Many people lock their information so that only friends can view them, and they want to look into your private messages to make sure that you aren't participating in any illegal...whatevers.

I can think of many reasons why transparency is a good thing. (The primary reason being that it would save lives).

Anyone care to put forth an argument that's pro-privacy? And no, 'Privacy is a human right' is not a good argument. You have to explain why it's worth letting people die over.
Okay, but first, you have to explain who's going to die if the police department doesn't get to read your private facebook messages before hiring you as a clerk.

Just kidding. I don't really care to hear you try to justify such an asinine statement, and I don't care to waste my time arguing with someone who thinks our entire lives should be on display. You're pretty much just as bad as the guy they're talking about in the article who said privacy is for pedos.
 

spartandude

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Nov 24, 2009
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thiosk said:
Andy Chalk said:
but consider the words of former News of the World deputy editor Paul McMullen, who very likely summed up a widespread contemporary attitude toward privacy in his testimony at the Leveson Inquiry yesterday. "Privacy is for pedos," he said. "Fundamentally, no one else needs it."
I love arguments like this. If you disagree, you're a pedo.

Lovely chap, indeed!

does this mean hes going to make all his bank details public?
 

RadiusXd

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Jun 2, 2010
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Kopikatsu said:
Iron Mal said:
Kopikatsu said:
Consider it part of the background check. What you do in private reveals more about you as a person than anything you do in public.
Which would be fine if it were part of a police investigation (they need to look at things like that to do their job) but for a job application that's going a bit overboard, all a potential employer really needs to know is have you been convicted of any crimes before and if so, what crimes?

How does going through all the 'I love you' notes I left to my girlfriend over Facebook do that exactly?

What makes privacy a human right? Who decided that? What purpose does privacy serve? What benefits are there to privacy?
Imagine if nothing in your life ever was private, imagine if everything you ever did, said, thought or felt was open to be viewed and examined by all.

Now imagine if your address, phone number, family, friend's and loved one's contact details and locations were avaliable to everyone at any time for any reason.

What if all of that information made it's way into the hands of someone who meant you or them harm? (given how there'd be no privacy there'd be nothing to prevent that)

There is a really damn good reason that everyone is entitled to their own privacy (namely, not everything we do needs to be public or should be public, in fact, making it all public could actually endanger more lives than it actually saves).

As I said, 'It's a human right, end all' is a piss poor argument.
Human rights are fundamental and vital things that are considered to be worth upholding regardless of context or situation.

Something being a human right is actually a very strong arguement, regardless of how trivial you believe it to be, so unless there's a damn good reason otherwise it's a good enough reason on it's own to not do something.

We here in the west are lucky to never have to worry about most of our human rights being violated so if I were you I'd take a moment to stop and reflect on just how fortuneate you are that we collectively give a damn about your physical, mental and emotional well being.

Edit: Nothing is self-explanatory. 'Just because' is an even worse argument than 'It's a human right, end all' is.
'Just because' is a worse arguement, but that's not the arguement being made here.

The topic at hand is a gross violation of privacy with no decent justification behind it.
1. They also need to know if there is a chance you'll commit a crime in the future. Specifically a violent crime. Like that Doctor in the military who went crazy and started shooting everyone. Also, they'll redoubtably use it to 'keep tabs' on the employee. If you post something like 'Yeah, I let off the hook this time. I shouldn't have, but hey, he gave me $50.', then yeah, it's kind of their business to know that.

As for the whole 'I love you' notes...that's assuming that anyone cares. Yeah, okay, it's nice, and you and your girlfriend care, but do anyone else actually care? The Police aren't going to be searching through your messages looking for your Great-Grandmother's recipe for Apple Pie.

2. I imagine it would feel like I'm a celebrity and/or politician. But again, I'm not saying the whole world needs to know, just law enforcement.

3. FFFFFF. What makes it a human right? I keep asking this, but nobody is answering it. What makes something a human right? Why is that important? Who decides what is a human right?
do you consider ANYTHING to be a human right? if so, why?
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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While this is way out there and someone really needs to get a reality check....

why do people put crap about themselves on the internet and they cry when other peopel see it? if you don't want it to be seen then DONT UPLOAD IT.
 

alandavidson

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Jun 21, 2010
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Kwil said:
Providing your password is a direct violation of the Facebook Terms of Service. Item 4, point 8: You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.

Thus, the police force is asking for a person to break the terms of a previously agreed to contract. This is illegal to do, and as such cannot be used to discriminate against the person during the hiring process if they refuse to do so. Anybody who refuses to do so and subsequently does not get hired has a case against the North Carolina police department in question, and should sue.
This. It's also attempted fraud on account of the Police Department.

Fun court battles will hopefully ensue.