Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. But she couldn't see his private profile. She turned back and asked him to hand over his login information.
Bassett refused and withdrew his application, saying he didn't want to work for a company that would seek such personal information. But as the job market steadily improves, other job candidates are confronting the same question from prospective employers, and some of them cannot afford to say no.
In their efforts to vet applicants, some companies and government agencies are going beyond merely glancing at a person's social networking profiles and instead asking to log in as the user to have a look around.
“It's akin to requiring someone's house keys,” said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor who calls it “an egregious privacy violation.”
Questions have been raised about the legality of the practice, which is also the focus of proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would forbid public agencies from asking for access to social networks.
Since the rise of social networking, it has become common for managers to review publically available Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other sites to learn more about job candidates. But many users, especially on Facebook, have their profiles set to private, making them available only to selected people or certain networks.
Companies that don't ask for passwords have taken other steps _ such as asking applicants to friend human resource managers or to log in to a company computer during an interview. Once employed, some workers have been required to sign non-disparagement agreements that ban them from talking negatively about an employer on social media.
Asking for a candidate's password is more prevalent among public agencies, especially those seeking to fill law enforcement positions such as police officers or 911 dispatchers.
Back in 2010, Robert Collins was returning to his job as a correctional officer at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services after taking a leave following his mother's death. During a reinstatement interview, he was asked for his login and password, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. He was stunned by the request but complied.
“I needed my job to feed my family. I had to,” he recalled.
After the ACLU complained about the practice, the agency amended its policy, asking instead for job applicants to log in during interviews.
“To me, that's still invasive. I can appreciate the desire to learn more about the applicant, but it's still a violation of people's personal privacy,” said Collins, whose case inspired Maryland's legislation.
Until last year, the city of Bozeman, Montana, had a long-standing policy of asking job applicants for passwords to their email addresses, social-networking websites and other online accounts.
And since 2006, the McLean County, Illinnois, sheriff's office has been one of several Illinois sheriff's departments that ask applicants to sign into social media sites to be screened.
Chief Deputy Rusty Thomas defended the practice, saying applicants have a right to refuse. But no one has ever done so. Thomas said that “speaks well of the people we have apply.”
When asked what sort of material would jeopardize job prospects, Thomas said “it depends on the situation” but could include “inappropriate pictures or relationships with people who are underage, illegal behavior.”
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the sheriff's department asks applicants to friend background investigators for jobs at the 911 dispatch center and for law enforcement positions.
“In the past, we've talked to friends and neighbors, but a lot of times we found that applicants interact more through social media sites than they do with real friends,” said Capt. Mike Harvey. “Their virtual friends will know more about them than a person living 30 yards away from them.”
Harvey said investigators look for any “derogatory” behavior that could damage the agency's reputation.
E. Chandlee Bryan, a career coach and co-author of the book “The Twitter Job Search Guide,” said job seekers should always be aware of what's on their social media sites and assume someone is going to look at it.
Bryan said she is troubled by companies asking for logins, but she feels it's not a violation if an employer asks to see a Facebook profile through a friend request. And she's not troubled by non-disparagement agreements.
“I think that when you work for a company, they are essentially supporting you in exchange for your work. I think if you're dissatisfied, you should go to them and not on a social media site,” she said.
More companies are also using third-party applications to scour Facebook profiles, Bryan said. One app called BeKnown can sometimes access personal profiles, short of wall messages, if a job seeker allows it.
Sears is one of the companies using apps. An applicant has the option of logging into the Sears job site through Facebook by allowing a third-party application to draw information from the profile, such as friend lists.
Sears Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Kim Freely said using a Facebook profile to apply allows Sears to be updated on the applicant's work history.
The company assumes “that people keep their social profiles updated to the minute, which allows us to consider them for other jobs in the future or for ones that they may not realize are available currently,” she said.
Facebook declined to comment except for issuing a brief statement declaring that the site forbids “anyone from soliciting the login information or accessing an account belonging to someone else.”
Giving out Facebook login information also violates the social network's terms of service. But those terms have questionable legal weight, and experts say the legality of asking for such information remains murky.
The Department of Justice regards it as a federal crime to enter a social networking site in violation of the terms of service, but during recent congressional testimony, the agency said such violations would not be prosecuted.
Lori Andrews, a law professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law specializing in Internet privacy, is concerned about the pressure placed on applicants, even if they voluntarily provide access to social sites.
“Volunteering is coercion if you need a job,” Andrews said.
Twitter did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
In New York, Bassett considered himself lucky that he was able to turn down the consulting gig at a lobbying firm.
“I think asking for account login credentials is regressive,” he said. “If you need to put food on the table for your three kids, you can't afford to stand up for your belief.” (AP)
<관련 한글 기사>
입사 면접관이 “페이스북 비번 대!” 황당
뉴욕시에서 통계 관련 일을 하는 저스틴 바세트가 새로운 일자리를 구하기 위해 면접에 응했을 때 그는 경력에 관한 통상적인 질문을 예상했다.
그러나 놀랍게도 면접담당자는 페이스북 사용자 이름과 비밀번호를 물었다.
베세트는 물음에 답하지 않았다. 개인정보를 알려고 하는 회사를 위해 일하기를 원치 않는다는 말과 함께 취업 신청을 철회했다.
미국내 취업시장이 점차 좋아지면서 바세트와 같은 질문을 받는 구직자들이 늘어나고 있고 일부는 이를 거부하지 못한다.
일부 기업과 정부기관들은 구직자의 신상을 알아보기 위해 단순히 소셜 네트워 킹의 프로필을 참고하는 수준을 넘어서서 사용자 로그인(접속)을 요구한다.
연방검사를 지낸 조지워싱턴대학 오린 커 법학교수는 이에 대해 "지독한 사생활 위반이며 집 열쇠를 요구하는 것과 흡사하다"고 비난했다.
구직자에게 소셜 네트워킹 로그인을 요구하는 관행의 적법성에 대한 의문이 제기되고 있다.
일리노이주와 메릴랜드주에서는 공공기관이 로그인 요구를 못하도록 금지시키는 내용의 법안이 마련됐다.
소셜 네트워킹의 등장으로 취업담당자가 입사 지원자에 대해 더 많이 알기 위해 페이스북 프로필이나 트위터의 계정을 참고하는 것은 흔한 일이 되어버렸다.
그러나 페이스북을 비롯 소셜네트워킹 사이트의 많은 이용자들은 프로필을 비공 개로 하거나 선택된 사람만 볼수 있도록 하고 있다.
구직자의 패스워드를 요구하지 않는 회사들은 인력담당 매니저를 소셜네트웍상 의 '친구' 명단에 추가해줄 것을 요구하는 등 다른 조치를 취하고 있다.
입사후 사용자에 관한 부정적 얘기를 소셜미디어에 올리지 않겠다는 서약을 요구받기도 한다.
경찰관이나 911구조대원 같은 공공기관 일자리는 입사 지원시 비밀번호를 요구 하는 경우가 흔하다.
일리노이주 맥린 카운티의 경우 2006년 이후 치안담당 부서의 구직신청자에게 소셜미디어에 대한 검사를 허용한다는 서명을 요구하고 있다.
러스티 토머스 보안관대리는 "구직자가 이와 같은 요구를 거부할 권리가 있다"면서 "그러나 아무도 거부하지 않았다"고 말했다.
버지니아주 스포트실배니어 카운티 치안담당 부서도 911 구조대원이나 경찰 구직자에 대해 친구 추가를 요구하고 있다.
이에 대해 마이크 하비 팀장은 "구직희망자의 신상을 알기 위해 과거에는 친구나 이웃과 얘기했지만 이들이 소셜미디어 사이트를 통해 더 많은 인적 교류가 있다 는 것을 발견했다"면서 "사이버상의 친구가 이웃보다 훨씬 많은 것을 알고 있다"고 말했다.
그는 직원의 소셜미디어 사이트를 스크린 하는 것은 기관의 명예에 해를 끼치는 행동을 했는지 알기 위한 것이라고 밝혔다.
'트위터 구직 가이드'라는 책의 공동저자인 챈들리 브라이언은 "구직자는 항상 자신의 소셜미디어 사이트에 어떤 내용이 올라가 있는지 알아야 하며 누군가 그 사이트를 보고 있다는 것을 염두에 둬야 한다"고 주의를 당부했다. (연합뉴스)
