First, I consider this the equivalent of asking to record conversations I have with my friends. If you as an employer think that it’s part of your business to eavesdrop on my friendships and romances, then we know where we stand and I will be over here working with someone else.
Second, I can’t give you my FB credentials even if I wanted to. The reason is that by doing so, I am violating the privacy expectations of other people, who do not expect that the things they share with me in private messages or on their wall or photos will be shared with my employer.
I have a similar arrangement with the person I date. She is welcome to ask me about my FB and email, however she is not allowed to rifle through it at will because other people may have an expectation of privacy in things they have emailed me.
This may work for you now, and I stand my ground the same way, the reason this is so alarming is because eventually, EVERY employer may ask this and then you simply won't have a choice.
I am curious, however, what will happen to people who really don't have a facebook. I've never had an account, would they believe me or assume I deleted it?
Eventually, EVERY employer may ask this and then you simply won't have a choice
Two hours later, here is what I sincerely suggest you say:
The people I interact with have an expectation of privacy around the things
they share on FB with me, or even the fact that we know each other.
When I come to work here, you will have certain expectations about my discretion
and ability to respect the company’s need for privacy and my co-worker’s needs
for privacy by not sharing things I see, hear, or are privy to with a third party,
even—or especially—if I am offered a financial inducement such as an attractive
offer of employment with a company I respect.
I therefore ask you to recognize that I am giving my friends and family the exact
same expectation of privacy that you can reply on from me once I join your firm.
I don’t think that’s smarmy or righteous, it’s just good old-fashioned golden rule stuff, and you are demonstrating your integrity. There will be a certain number of companies who ask to shoulder-surf your facebook, and I will guess that some of them will back down if you say those words to them and mean it.
JM2C, of course, I am not qualified to give career advice.
> This may work for you now, and I stand my ground the same way, the reason this is so alarming is because eventually, EVERY employer may ask this and then you simply won't have a choice.
At that point I delete my Facebook account and never look back.
And if they do want it, there's probably a damn good reason anyways.
Given some of the silliness engaged by the government (e.g. placing a GPS tracker on a Muslim Redditor's car, supposedly because of a comment on Reddit), I don't think we can really take that statement as correct. :-)
As soon as you apply for a job that is high level or sensitive enough, that information will be part of the dossier they review. Depending what is in your FB, or any other comment history you may have, it MIGHT be wise to keep that FB. Lest they think you were trying to hide something.
Let's say you are trying to get a job with the FBI or obtain a security clearance. You will be asked to provide a list of family, friends, bosses, teachers, etc. from throughout your life, and those people will be interviewed (about their knowledge of you, not their own propensities to get too drunk, etc.). Lots of public and not-so-public records will be analyzed, etc., etc. Not much privacy.
What's interesting is that the purpose of the background check process seems to be threefold (as I gleaned from talking to an FBI Special Agent who interviewed me about a friend):
1. Identify possible ways in which the investigated person might be manipulated. Having an affair? Had an affair a few years ago which the current spouse doesn't know about? Gambling problem? Drug issues? If so, you might be susceptible to blackmail or bribery.
2. Identify propensities for dishonesty or lack of trustworthiness. Did you cheat on tests? Do you follow-thru on promises? I was asked a lot of questions about how much I trusted this friend.
3. Identify possible 3rd party allegiances. Are you someone identified by the mafia at age 15 as a person who will go to college, look sparkling clean, and then infiltrate the FBI? To make sure, the FBI interviews people from many phases of one's life. It would be really hard to have seemingly normal friends while you were secretly off training with some foreign terrorist organization. I suspect I was also background checked, but I never signed-off on it. The FBI seems to be using the social graph transitively to verify that you aren't hiding anything. No proof of this last statement though.
I've been told that, at least for normal governmental security clearances, the goal is not to determine if you are a good or bad person -- it's to determine if you are hiding something. If your wife knows about the affair you had five years ago, it will be hard to use that knowledge to blackmail you. However, if it remained a secret, you might do something not so good for the USA to save your marriage.
I was asked about the additional names (expressed only as initials due to space constraints) on my friend's condo deed. She had purchased the condo while in law school, and her parents co-signed on the loan. Only after the interview did I realize that the FBI was confirming she did not have a sugar daddy!
I have a FB profile. I don't post status updates or even articles. I have only the profile picture, no albums. I constantly refine my privacy settings to the strictest possible. Nobody can tag me in photos, etc. Nobody can see me wall (even friends).
I need a FB account for work. When FB inevitably becomes so invasive that people begin to panic and delete their profiles, I can safely delete (deactivate) mine. FB may keep all of my data, hopefully I won't have given them anything that isn't worthless.
I think the only safe policy is to refrain entirely from adding any information to the system; you may never get it back. Even seemingly innocuous status updates and public conversations could look suspicious/unprofessional/embarrassing later on.
Same situation, i needed one for work. Worked @ a social media management company...Facebook doesnt like "Fake accounts" so maintaining a real one for work, for the purpose of testing was something you needed to do.
Its a real pain in the ass, mixes personal and work way too much. I had a Facebook account already, and i still do, so i didn't mind too much....but i dislike the left overs its causes (installed apps, pages in my name, app keys in my name etc...although this was just due to poor management of these assets)
I receive occasional announcements and event invitations through FB groups. Sadly, this is the only way my company chooses to disseminate some information.
I'm still not clear on the "Getting rid of Facebook" process. If I recall correctly, there are three levels. First, you can simply deactivate it ("I've got a big project this week guys, so no Facebook for me.").
A step further, and this is where I think I am, is the "delete" option, where you, small 'd', "delete" Facebook, but your information is still there in case you want to come back. It's not accessible to your buddy Joe Blow, but it's there.
Finally, and I might be wrong here, but there is a big 'D' "Delete" option, where facebook deletes your info "permanently" or as "permanently" as they'd like you to believe.
I don't plan on going back to facebook soon, but I'm with you in worrying at times that a sensitive employer would look at a "deleted" or "Deleted" facebook and think "What is this guy trying to hide?"
This would do it. But I suppose that some people still keep their myspace accounts, or worse yearbook accounts. And those things can be searched via Google.
Also, deleting these accounts does not assure complete invisibility on the net. If you've used your account to comment on a public facebook account or page, there is no assurance that deleting your account would delete that post too.
I am curious, however, what will happen to people who really don't have a facebook. I've never had an account, would they believe me or assume I deleted it?
Diligently create a facebook "version" of yourself which appears to be a great worker/student/whatevertheywant?
I mean you can fight the system, but sabotaging it is so much more fun.
"Put it all together and I think we all now see the fundamental utility of LinkedIn — it’s the one place where you can demonstrate how honest, decent and accomplished you are, even if you have to lie and cheat to do it."
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/humor/work-daze/li...
The savvier kids have been maintaining multiple Facebook accounts for years: one where they friend their parents, family, church pastor, etc., and the other (under a pseudonym) where they have fun. It's like the social equivalent of a TrueCrypt hidden volume. Plausible deniability is the name of the game.
>...the reason this is so alarming is because eventually, EVERY employer may ask this and then you simply won't have a choice.
At that point, I would start my own company, we wouldn't check Facebook accounts (and would let people know this) and we would have a line out the door of job applicants who want their privacy respected.
What if you worked in some sort of regulated, specialized industry and were unable to set up your own company? What if you worked in one organization for a long time, built up seniority and benefits, and suddenly they changed their rules and you had to either quit or let them view your private accounts?
It seems to me that this is clearly the sort of thing that should be illegal because there is a huge imbalance in terms of bargaining power in these situations.
This is a non-story. They cite a couple of examples in the article, but the headline makes a completely unwarranted leap of induction to "employers and colleges across the country". I bet there are more cases every year of "employers and colleges across the country" who ask applicants to strip naked as a prerequisite for a job offer.
Even if we take this argument to a logical conclusion where every employer will eventually feel compelled to do this, this would destroy the value proposition of Facebook entirely. It would effectively turn Facebook into LinkedIn. If it can't be used for fun, people won't use it, which is entirely against Facebook's interests (which means they'll adjust the privacy policy and sue offending employers).
The idea that this is a serious phenomenon gets clicks, but it has no legs to stand on.
I expect a lot of things too, but I never cease to be surprised by the world we live in.
Consider that as popular as Facebook is, it is still mostly popular for younger people, who vote less than older people.
Consider how easy it is to convince the government to end almost any right or freedom if you mention security/terrorism.
Consider that while this might become an election issue, it almost certainly won't be the election issue. The economy, abortion, and all the other old standbys, will be the votes that really matter to an elected politician, not a vote, or lack of a vote, either way on facebook.
Consider that once this violation of privacy becomes status quo, it becomes 100x harder to roll it back.
I expect a lot of things, but I would not be surprised if this forced access to friend only level of information on facebook becomes the norm.
This is the case with drug tests currenty, in a lot of industries. Submit to a wholesale invasion of privacy or don't work. I understand Silicon Valley is pretty hip and savvy, but this is the reality for blue collar industrial jobs, retail, government work and, perhaps in the near future, welfare.
Drugs are about as easy to quit as Facebook for some people...
A former employer of mine supposedly mulled drug testing, but abandoned the idea when they realized they would no longer have a creative department.
On a more serious note, it seems to be that drug testing is only required where physical safety is compromised by drugs, like drivers, warehouse workers, etc. Similar to how people who have direct responsibility of money may have to undergo credit checks. Properly managed, these seems like acceptable precautions to me.
I've never been asked to take one, nor would I submit to one for a software development job, despite being drug-free.
I am having trouble coming up with a legitimate need that an employer would have for a facebook account password, short of someone who has a high level security clearance where phone taps and surveillance are also to be expected.
Introducing facebook background searches!
For a low fee of $2499, fb will comb through your prospective employee's postings and alert you of any trouble spots!
You need to acknowledge and own the power you have to tell assholes to go pound sand (phrased nicely like OP of course). Learn it early and practice often. If you produce value then the employer has more to lose than you do.
If every employer demanded this I would have the easiest choice in the world. Start my own company and not ask to read my employees personal communications.
> then we know where we stand and I will be over here working with someone else.
Hah, do you think for a huge amount of people simply getting a different job is really that easy? The working class of the US is completely on the ropes, they are told to take any job they can get because they are so desperate for work. It's nice, as a privileged person being able to go up yours I'll keep my dignity and my rights, but the impoverished and desperate do not have that luxury unless they want to starve.
Facebooks ToS prohibits password sharing. Only the media accounts they give out can be used by multiple people. You could simply list the accounts your employer was using and Facebook would nail them.
Also simply give a fake facebook account with a few fake contacts for your friends and family. Most people are too stupid that they wouldn't recognize the inactive accounts as fakes.
It may indeed be the case that communications issued through "friends only" might give rise to findings of "confidence" -- you'd be on the hook for breaking confidences.
First, I consider this the equivalent of asking to record conversations I have with my friends. If you as an employer think that it’s part of your business to eavesdrop on my friendships and romances, then we know where we stand and I will be over here working with someone else.
Second, I can’t give you my FB credentials even if I wanted to. The reason is that by doing so, I am violating the privacy expectations of other people, who do not expect that the things they share with me in private messages or on their wall or photos will be shared with my employer.
I have a similar arrangement with the person I date. She is welcome to ask me about my FB and email, however she is not allowed to rifle through it at will because other people may have an expectation of privacy in things they have emailed me.