Social Media Passwords Being Requested in Interviews Essay

With the dawn of social media websites, privacy concerns have reached new heights. Employers are asking prospective employees for login credentials to popular social media sites during interviews. Many workers and potential employees find this issue unethical because they do not agree with the reasons given by the employers. The employers should differentiate between private and public information because all passwords remain highly personal. Despite the concern that social networking websites lead to the sharing of personal information, employers should not ask for the passwords for the social media accounts because it deprives privacy, encroaches on the rights of an individual and makes a qualified applicant to flee.

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When employers use social media as a means of recruitment, it leads to discrimination. The employer should make sure that recruiting practices are not discriminatory as well as using the inability of the candidate to have a social media account to make employment decisions. Social media is a new and improved way for communication but not everybody uses it in this way. For instance, older individuals, minorities, and women do not use social media as extensively and robust as white men (Chartier 29). If the employer uses this, it does not provide equal and equitable access to the recruitment procedure. The employer should not use social media recruitment as the only part of the recruitment effort but as part of the process.

Additionally, Facebook has warned employers to avoid asking applicants for their passwords because it takes the security of the user seriously. Any employer who risks this may face a legal action which can mean shutting down applications. This, therefore, restricts any employer from asking their prospective candidates or their employees for social media passwords. A Facebook page, for instance, could reveal private information of the user such as the religion and race which the employer ought not to know. Houser observes that if such access is not granted to the employer and fails to hire a potential job seeker, it could amount to discrimination, and the candidate can file a lawsuit against the employer (113). Employers are prohibited from retaliation or discriminating against an individual who has refused to disclose or provide any username or password to the employer.

Obtaining accurate references is instrumental in any recruitment process, despite the difficulty of ascertaining what the applicant says in an interview and the recommendation from another person. Chartier notes that when references are obtained through social media, the employers should ask themselves two crucial questions: is what is found in the social media platforms accurate and do they contribute to the recruitment process (29)? Gromek argues that it is unnecessary for the employer to request social media information because they can rely on background checks and public searches when seeking for the applicant's information (4). This, therefore, indicates that social media information should not be included in the process of recruitment because it does not give an honest appraisal of the candidate's abilities or performance hence are not usable. Recommendations are usually provided by a person who has known or worked with the candidate before and is included by the employer when looking for a potential member of staff.

In addition to the recommendation, it is increasingly becoming a norm for human resource managers to look at the social media of the candidate to check if the provided information is reasonable or accurate. The managers should not do this because it exposes information about a protected status. Managers should also contend with the view that password-protected information is not meant for public display because they are protected from disclosure. The employer may find evidence of unprofessional behavior or information that is illegal for them to act on. For instance, an employer may find out the age of the candidate, illness and that the candidate is pregnant and may institute a way of eliminating the candidate. This amounts to misuse of the social media and has consequences.

The employer infringes on the privacy of a person when they ask for social media passwords. This is because, through the shared password, the employer gains access to the site and can check the online social activity of the potential employee. The type of information obtained from social media is private and do not relate to work, which is a gross violation and invasion into the private life of an individual. Also, giving out passwords means that the employer may find out more than what they want to know, yet the public information shared by the candidate is fair enough. Drake observes that human resource professionals are asking for Facebook login credentials to screen and select candidates hence placing the privacy of the applicant and the friends at risk (429).

Furthermore, applicants are desperate for work, and whenever employers ask for these passwords, they oblige. This is because they do not have an option as they may need the job immediately, are in a tight situation, or do not have any options hence comply with the request for fear of losing the opportunity. When the employer asks for social network username and passwords, it puts the applicant in an awkward position. This is because job seekers are afraid that if they do not do as the employer wants, the chances of being denied the opening is high even if the employer impinges on their privacy. Invading the employee's privacy takes away their rights to determine what they divulge as this leads to the intrusion that devalues their worth as individuals. Some states have passed bills to protect the applicants from employers who request for social media passwords because they are likely to hire an individual who conforms to the request than one who does not.

Employers should know that asking for login details during hiring may make qualified candidates to run away from the organization because they see this practice as a hostile and distrustful relationship that the employer is creating with the employees. This is because candidates who do not want their right to privacy to be infringed turn away from potential employers. The information shared on social media is private hence the applicants may have something to hide. The employer should interview the candidate in person, verify their experience, talk with the referee, and give a decision on the best candidates even if they have posted inappropriate content in the public domain.

One reason why employers ask for social media passwords are to assess the behavior of potential employees. If an applicant engages in activities such as drinking or posting embarrassing photos online, it does not damage the company because there is no poor reflection of the company if the social media account shows the photos of an applicant engaging in behaviors not related to work. The employer should not deny occupation or make an applicant jobless for the rest of his or her life just because one was tagged in a Facebook page with inappropriate content. Whatever the potential employee says in social media are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the company.

Lastly, employers are violating federal legislation passed by the Congress which raised concerns on the request made to potential candidates and employees for social media passwords. Gromek observes that the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA) introduced in 2013 by the House of Representatives made it illegal for any employer to request or require any applicant or employee to provide a username, password, or any other means of accessing a social media site for employment (12). It is also unlawful to discipline, discharge or deny employment to an applicant if one fails to submit the username or password. If employers contravene this act, they are liable to lawsuit because the employee could argue that he or she was coerced to submit the social media passwords to the authority for fear of being denied employment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is nothing that a company will do to prevent potential employees from turning to social media to voice their concerns because social media is used almost every day by most people. Employers should not ask for username, password, or any form of access to the social media websites during the interview because this can condemn an individual to joblessness especially if unwilling to share the login credentials. This emotive issue prompted states such as Maryland, California, and Illinois to pass laws that barred employers from asking job applicants for their social media usernames and passwords.

Works Cited

Chartier, Greg. Which Law Did You Break Today? Lulu Com, 2013. Print.

Drake, John R. "Asking for Facebook logins: An egoist case for privacy." Journal of business ethics 139.3 (2016): 429-441.

Gromek, Amy Christine. "Employers Can't Request Your Social Media Passwords, But You Can't Sue: The Need for a Private Right of Action in New Jersey's Social Media Legislation." (2014).

Houser, Kimberly A. Legal Guide to Social Media: Rights and Risks for Businesses and Entrepreneurs. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2013. Print.