Has an employer asked for your Facebook password?

It's a serious question, following today's stunning privacy post from Facebook. Has an employer or prospective one asked you for your Facebook password, or that of another social media site; could be Google+, Tumblr or Twitter, among others?

The request might have come as condition of continued employment, and there threat of reprisal might seem, or even be, real given the current job market. Or perhaps a prospective employer said that you couldn't be considered for a new position without first giving up your password. Please answer in comments. This is one of those rare occasions I don't mind, and even recommend, anonymous commenting if answer is "Yes". There also is a poll. Please answer, and you can choose multiple responses.

Anyone who asks for your Facebook or other social media password(s) as condition of continued or new employment should be fired immediately. Any company that allows such a practice should be vilified and prosecuted.

The practice is an egregious privacy breech of widening circles. Particularly for Facebook, there are boundaries -- anywhere from no one to friends or friend of friends -- who can view one another's Facebooks. The employer voyeur doesn't just violate your privacy but theirs.

Erin Egan, Facebook chief privacy policy officer, makes the social network's position clear:

As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job.  And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job.  That’s why we’ve made it a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to share or solicit a Facebook password.

My question for Facebook: How far are you really willing to go? If I as an individual user violate your terms of service, the consequence can be fatal: Closing my account. Facebook, are you willing to similarly enforce the ToS against businesses, by pulling their brand pages -- even if they are advertisers? Nothing less shows your commitment to protecting Facebook users' privacy.

No one could rightly accuse me of being a friend of Facebook. The company needs to do much to put its privacy house in order, I contend. Facebook profits from pretty much everything that anyone shares on the social network. People talk about the omniscience of God. What about CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook?

Abuse of Power

Still, there's a difference. The existing or prospective employer is in a position of power over the employee or job seeker. There is a power imbalance, which legally is at the core of sexual harassment or discrimination statutes. The employer misuses his or her power for gain. The motivation isn't as self-gratifying or self-serving as sexual harassment -- or anywhere as demeaning or abusive. But it's a power imbalance leading to personal violation nevertheless, and potentially that of others.

Something else: Many companies have strict security policies about making and not sharing passwords. So why is Mr. or Mrs. Human Resources person so cavalierly demanding personal passwords from people they hire -- or fire.

Again, it's a power imbalance, and worse. HR manager is position of utmost trust, because he or she has so much access to employee information. Asking for the personal password from a position of power might seem to the HR manager and even those above him or her as serving the company's interest. Instead, the practice is a legal, as well as moral, quagmire.

US law prohibits asking about sexual preferences or religion, for example. Forced access to Facebook accounts can provide that information -- and more. Some smart lawyer can, and should, argue that existing statutes already cover Facebook password privacy prying because it reveals information companies aren't allowed to ask for during the employment process.

That some employers ask for what they shouldn't isn't surprising. When haven't businesses pushed the hiring and firing limits? That's how we got trade unions or laws governing what employers can ask you or me for.

Something else: Zuckerberg has repeatedly stated he wants to shake up standard mores about privacy, and Facebook's business model is about pushing down the body bubbles that separate us, encouraging people to share more and more publicly. But it's one thing to freely share personal information and another to be coerced or compelled to get or keep a job.

Photo Credit: Adam Gregor/Shutterstock