The Great Facebook Debate

The Great Facebook Debate

Facebook has officially responded to reports that companies are asking prospective employees for their personal facebook passwords so they can check their accounts to see if they are their kind of guy or gal.

Rightly, in my opinion, facebook has told companies that to do so is an invasion of privacy that opens them up to legal liabilities.

Companies asking interview candidates to hand over the passwords of their facebook account? It seems inappropriate to the point of being made up. Could this be true?

I’m not an HR person, but I simply cannot imagine any scenario where I would feel comfortable as a human being in asking anybody for their facebook password. Not only is a prospective employees private life not my business, the legal ramifications seem so glaringly obvious.

Imagine it. I get the password from the prospective employee, I look at all of their photos and posts and see that this guy or gal has a sexual orientation or religion for that matter, that others in society may find suspect. And I don’t hire him.

Before you can say “lawsuit,” this prospect is on the phone with five high profile civil rights attorneys who are chomping at the bit to take your silly company down.

Two years ago when I was at a different company, I was looking to hire a designer and checked out one prospects facebook page that was public. I remember seeing some photos that I could imagine some HR people being concerned about. Photos that involved some behaviors that one could get a fine for. Nothing big, however.

This was the last and only time I checked out someone’s facebook profile. For me, I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I a) might judge somebody wrongly who is not like me, and b) I might be held criminally liable somehow should I not hire this person.

Yes, there’s a big difference between checking out someone’s public profile and asking for their password. But is it just me, or does this idea of asking people for their facebook passwords seem absurd to you?

– Charles Drozdyk