Employer Facebook Ethics issue

It is no secret that employers have been utilizing Facebook and other social networking sights to screen prospective employees in recent years. However, now many companies are going a step further and requiring potential candidates to provide their Facebook login. Those who refuse to provide this information are often turned away immediately and those who comply place their profiles in the hands of the interviewer. The employer uses the individual’s login to search through their messages, comments, and pictures, looking for anything controversial that reflects negatively on the user. This has caused controversy and debate across the nation as more become aware of this issue. The legal and moral implications of requiring potential employees to provide this information are serious. Many argue that this is an invasion of individual rights to privacy and even Facebook itself condemns this practice. Overall, demanding private login information is unethical and a violation of citizens’ rights in the United States. The reasons that some companies ask for logins are understandable. In recent years, social networking sites have become increasingly popular and users often post personal information that could be valuable in assessing interviewees. Having access to their potential hire’s profile would be helpful to a corporation and would enable them to sift out those who represented themselves poorly on Facebook. However, this is also an invasion of the individual’s rights. A person may have private conversations using a social networking website that they do not want to disclose to their employer. As long as an interviewee provides legally mandated information to the business, there is no ethical reason to require someone to divulge their personal login. Even Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer of policy, asserted that “as a user, you shouldn't be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job." In addition to this, Facebook