The federal government has many important things to do, like worrying about which famous sports person is using performance enhancing drugs. So the states have taken on the job of ensuring your online privacy. The latest to consider privacy-protecting legislation is the state of Wisconsin.
The particular privacy under consideration is your right to withhold your social media passwords from your employers. Currently, in most states, your bosses can demand that you give them passwords to your Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media accounts you may have. And if you’re looking for a job, the interviewers can either demand those passwords or engage in “shoulder surfing”, insisting that you open your accounts while they look over your shoulder and read your posts.
Of course, you can say no. But it’s a tough job market. And most people, faced with the prospect of losing their job, or not being considered for a job at all, feel they have no choice but to hand over their passwords.
Predictably, the ACLU, along with other privacy groups, has criticized the practice and lobbied lawmakers to enact legislation protecting employee privacy. Several such bills have died in Congressional committees, but the states are stepping in to address the issue.
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States that have enacted social media password protection laws include: Arkansas; California; Colorado; Illinois; Maryland; Michigan; Nevada; New Mexico; Oregon; Utah; and Washington. Wisconsin is expected to follow suit. Notably, in all of these states, the legislation has received bi-partisan support. And in most surveys of the issue, an overwhelming majority (by overwhelming, we mean as high as 98%) of respondents favors legislation to prohibit employers from demanding access to social media passwords.
Opponents of the legislation say full access to social media accounts is necessary to ensure the security of businesses, schools, athletic programs, even rental units. Clearly, their arguments are sounding increasingly thin, as more and more states outlaw the practice.
While privacy advocates applaud states for enacting this legislation, the very nature of state-by-state laws is creating a certain amount of confusion. A federal law, applicable everywhere, might solve that problem. But Congress seems to be in no hurry to address this issue. Until that happens, both employers and employees would be wise to find out what personal information can and cannot be asked in their particular states.