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<h1 class="title-news"> Illinois Bill Would Outlaw Employers From
Asking For Applicants' Social Media Passwords </h1>
<div class="margin_bottom_10 relative"> <img
src="cid:part1.09080709.01030707@gmail.com" alt="Facebook
Passwords Employers" id="img_caption_1255881" width="570"> </div>
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<p> <span class="posted-and-updated"> First Posted: 02/ 5/2012
2:06 pm<span class="vborder-dashed margin_0_2"> </span>Updated:
02/ 5/2012 2:59 pm </span> </p>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/illinois-bill-would-outla_n_1255881.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/illinois-bill-would-outla_n_1255881.html</a>
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<p>An Illinois legislator has introduced a proposal that would bar
employers from asking prospective employees for their usernames or
passwords in order to gain access to their profiles on sites like
Facebook or Twitter.</p>
<p>Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) introduced the bill (<a
href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=3782&GAID=11&SessionID=84&LegID=61758"
target="_hplink">HB 3782</a>) last spring, but the measure was
recently taken up by the state legislature's Labor Committee.</p>
<p>The bill would amend the state's Right to Privacy in the
Workplace Act to make it illegal for employers to gain access to a
prospective employee's account on any social networking site
during the hiring process. </p>
<p>The measure would not, however, prevent employers from
considering information found on an applicants' public profile --
such content remains fair game and <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/new-infographic-shows-how-companies-target-unemployed_n_918816.html"
target="_hplink">as many as 50 percent of employers say they
rely on social networking sites to help them screen potential
employees</a>.</p>
<p>Ford explained, as reported by WJBC, that <a
href="http://wjbc.com/bill-would-ban-employers-asking-for-personal-passwords/"
target="_hplink">when prospective employers access an
applicant's social networking account, they may gain access to
sensitive financial information and other personal details that
should remain private</a>.</p>
<p>"If legislators had to give their Twitter and Facebook account
passwords how would they like that? They wouldn't like it. They
wouldn't want to give their password to anyone because it's their
personal password," Ford said.</p>
<p>The bill was criticized by state Rep. Jill Tracy (R-Quincy),
Republican spokesperson of the state Labor Committee, <a
href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-illinois-bill-companies-cant-force-applicants-to-give-out-social-media-passwords-20120203,0,454338.story"
target="_hplink">as over-regulating businesses</a>, the <em>Chicago
Tribune</em> reports.</p>
The measure will be the subject of a hearing Tuesday before the
Labor Committee.
<p>Reports emerged last year that some job applicants, including one
individual who applied for a clerical position with a North
Carolina police force, <a
href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068494/Facebook-Employers-snoop-account-DEMAND-passwords.html"
target="_hplink">were asked for their passwords for any websites
such as Facebook or Myspace as part of a background check their
potential employers wanted to run</a>, the <em>Daily Mail</em>
reported.</p>
<p>The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland spoke out last
year against the Maryland Department of Public Safety and
Correctional Services <a
href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/02/should-employers-be-allowed-to-ask-for-your-facebook-login/71480/"
target="_hplink">after they allegedly ordered an employee to
hand over his Facebook password if he wanted to see his job
reinstated</a>. The ACLU called such a demand "a frightening and
illegal invasion of privacy" and the department suspended the
practice, according to <em>The Atlantic</em>.</p>
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