My Facebook, Not Yours!
The world we live in today has become a place of global sharing. This sharing can include anything from pictures, to videos, to what you are eating for dinner. Even though we think everything is labeled to us as our intellectual property once we post it, there is minimal regulation on what can actually happen to this information. Some employers are now looking into and even implementing contracts or disclosures that require employees to disclose their Facebook user name and password in order to initiate or continue employment with the company. However, there is enough privacy policy regulation out there with regards to Facebook that someone should consider their rights before signing over their username and password to an employer to get a job. While a Facebook profile review can assist employers in determining character of potential and current employees, it should not be allowed because it can violate privacy policies, intellectual property rights, and employment regulations that every person should be entitled to under the law.
Ever been really upset with your job or your boss? Everyone has had those moments where you just want to vent. Using your Facebook page is a perfect option, right? Not so much! Employers are becoming stricter on what they look for in an employee and Facebook gives them a personal insight to who you may be. Many already review the profiles of potential employees without the employees consent. But with the world-wide web being accessible to just about anyone, this is no surprise. Facebook has settings that allow anyone to keep all information private, including your profile picture and name. You can even set your Facebook to not come up “searchable”. A lot of people may not take this into account though and change those settings so that their personal information stays just that, personal. Without reviewing the privacy policy we just click “I agree” and continue on building our profile. Because of this, many employers are able to view the profile of a potential employee before making their decision to hire. For those informed few who do change their privacy settings, employers are now asking for Facebook login credentials. Is this legal? Privacy violations are hard to determine with the internet as who is truly accountable. However, most internet websites list a privacy policy disclosure and by clicking “I agree to the terms and consent” you have just entered into a contract with that website. Most people just do not read the fine print. They want a Facebook to stay connected but do not think about the impact it may have on their job. Included in the privacy policy issues is the fact that Facebook shares information with 3rd party websites and by clicking that all-encompassing “I Agree” checkbox, you have given consent to do so. It is called “frictionless sharing” a term coined by Facebook (Lundquist, 2011). This allows anything that you do associated with Facebook to be posted to your profile unless you change the settings; listen to music, shop for clothes, even play games. All of these can be posted to your Facebook profile without ever having to click a button! Privacy would not be violated because of information sharing if you had not checked that little “I agree” box. But does this beg the question that it is unethical? Sure it does. What does that mean for work?
Employers are going to judge you based on everything they see and hear about you. Your Facebook profile is a perfect place for them to start. It has any complaint you have ever typed out, any picture of that crazy weekend you have posted and shared, and even every single racy picture or share you may have done. Some people post without thinking but it can come back to bite you. Is it legal for an employer to ask for your Facebook login credentials? The answer to that is actually, maybe. Though some states, such as Missouri have laws in place for teachers where they are required to disclose Facebook conversations and communication because of issues with inappropriate communications with students, they do not outline that they require Facebook login credentials. I am sure that if there was a legitimate issue though of inappropriate contact that would then raise the issue. The teachers are fighting this law because of First Amendment rights and privacy issues. It should not be dictated that an employer is allowed to view personal communication or personal Facebook pages just because that person is employed with them. This Facebook forum is what is most relatable to today’s youth. Thus it can be a useful communication and even teaching method. What happens when it is restricted? “Many teachers and free-speech advocated worry less about the letter of the law than its impact on teachers, who may well sign off their social media accounts rather than risk their jobs. (Jonsson, 2011).” This means that the open line of communication that was previously viewed is no longer going to be there. Does this mean learning will stop? No, but it does mean that further promotion of learning will not continue with social media.
No one wants their employer snooping through their personal things. Can you imagine your boss saying, “I know you have been employed with us for several years but the new development with Facebook requires us to now review your profile.”? That would be almost as bad as them asking for the keys to your car to search it. This is almost bordering on illegal search and seizure rules, some of which can be punishable by law under the Due Process Clause in the Fourth Amendment. Any information taken from your Facebook page would be considered your intellectual property and if used in a harmful manner against you, you have the right to dispute it. This intellectual property can also be stolen. Imagine you create a new receipe. You then post this reciepe to Facebook and share it only with yourself so you do not forget it. Your employer happens to be a chef and you his understudy. The chef has your Facebook password because it was required upon entry to your job. The chef uses your Facebook credentials to log in and steals your recipe that ends up being a smash hit. He then takes full credit for it. Even though you gave your Facebook password and login information, that is still your intellectual property and could have been your big break. You can sue under stolen intellectual property for damages caused by this (Roger S. 2012). There is a fine line between an employer looking to your Facebook to ensure character and monitoring any posts that could negatively affect the business and stealing your property. This kind of concern really raises issues among employees handing over personal information such as a Facebook login credentials.
Employment regulations are also another big issue with regards to Facebook. So much information is stored on a Facebook such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and many other aspects of a person’s life. Most have their privacy settings updated so they do not show the world every single detail but have filled out most of the information at Facebook’s request. Now imagine a world where Facebook credentials are asked for upon application to a new job. Due to this quick check of a person’s Facebook the employer can find out a lot of information that if the person is not hired can lead back to said person filing a formal complaint or even lawsuit because of discrimination. The Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate based on an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in any term or condition of employment (Roger S. 2012). Now what does this mean in relation to Facebook? In the interviewing and reviewing process it can mean big trouble for the business because Facebook photos can depict any of the no-no items included in the Civil Rights Act which are all legally protected characteristics (Anonymous 2012). Even if an employee is already hired but the employer deems it necessary to employ such techniques as reviewing each employee Facebook, the employer can find out this kind of personal information and it can lead to discrimination. Suppose a person if of an origin they do not resemble but their Facebook shows that origin. The employer then sees this and begins to treat the employee different due to this and eventually fires the employee purley on this new information. The employee can sue for discrimination and possibly regain their job and possibly get compensation for losses sustained in losing their job. It is surprising how much personal information is stored in a website that we view every day and do not think twice about unless something comes about because of it.
Now that I have explored the law aspects of Facebook and employee relationships I would like to take a look at the ethical implications. Does a business have an ethical responsibility to review a person’s Facebook from the employee’s perspective, using their login credentials? Ethically I would say no, absolutely not. An employer has a bestowed trust that the employee expects of them; fair treatment, equal opportunity, and cooperation are just a few of those trusts. Nosing into the Facebook and personal information of an employee is breaking that trust in my opinion ethically. Without the trust of the employee the employer loses respect from the employee. I personally have experienced this with a job that I have held. There was a disclosure policy that I had to sign acknowledging that I would not post anything about my job or reference anything that happened at work on my personal Facebook or any other social media site. To get the job I did sign this disclosure but if my employer had ever found a single comment that was not promoting the business on my profile, I would have been fired immediately. That was just at a gas station. A fellow associate of mine currently works for Wells Fargo. I am not certain of her position with them but about two weeks ago we were out talking about Facebook issues and employers. This conversation came about just because we were discussing internet security. I mentioned that my company allows us to get on Facebook and any other website even with our work computers. She scoffed at me and said I was lucky because her employer will not even let them open a solitaire game window for fear of breach of security. She then followed this note with a comment that threw me way off and began my idea for this paper. She said “Our employer requires our username and password and if we ever change it we are required to update them with the new information.” I do not know how I would react to that to be honest. I do not think I would be able to stand to work for a company with that much distrust. Though it may be in the company’s best interest to maintain a handle to ensure no personal client information is being leaked, I can hardly see how this is a necessary policy. Ethically, a business owes a duty to its clients to maintain security but I do not think that monitoring a person’s Facebook will achieve this security. The privacy policy I had to sign upon first employment with the gas station should be enough as it clearly states that I would be held responsible for damages.
What about ethical dilemmas when accessing a person’s Facebook? An employer has the right to know that the person is not defaming their company or spreading client data illegally. But do they have the ethical right to view a person’s photos? What if some of those photos included private moments with the employee’s family; pictures from the birth of a child that the person only shared with direct relatives or a conversation that had nothing to do with work. Would this constitute a valid use of accessing their Facebook? I think it is ethically wrong to judge a person through their Facebook. As mentioned earlier, we all have times where we say things we may not mean and vent or share things that may not be work suitable. Though we should by now know to keep them off of any public space, we do not always think before we post. Does that mean we are incapable of doing a great job at work? No it does not. Does that meant that an employer should terminate employment? I do not think they should. Most states however abide by the rule that termination can happen at any time for any valid, invalid or no reason at all. If there is no contract for employment for a set period of time then the employment is at-will-employment and can be terminated by either party at any time (Roger S. 2012). This is disconcerting if the employer is allowed to view a personal item and possibly make an employment related decision with regards to that profile. Not every person views items the same way. One person may regard a night out with friends at a bar and pictures of that night as being irresponsible. Thus causing them to terminate employment because they feel the employee is irresponsible. Never thinking that the person may not have even been drinking that night or that it may be a very once in a while thing on a long vacation. One person’s ideal may be that they do not like low rise jeans and find them to be indecent. Viewing pictures of a person outside of a work environment in this attire can lead them to disagree or even terminate employment as well just based on some pictures that they may have never seen in the first place.
Now taking in all of this information, there is a positive side to an employer viewing an employee’s Facebook and that is when there is a legitimate issue. If an employee truly is using their Facebook in a derogatory manner regarding the business then yes, I believe it is ethically responsible and legal for a business to request to see these posts and can even ask for the person’s log on credentials if there was a privacy policy signed in the first place. The change in technology and social media is going to new levels and taking businesses with them. It is important that a business keeps everything in line with what they are doing even if it means incorporating new laws and rules to accommodate technology. If there are inappropriate conversations going on between young students under the age of consent and teachers then yes, by all means search their profile and Facebook to put an end to those kinds of situations. But do not deny everyone the privacy just because one person messed it up. I see that businesses are putting in more and more preventative measures to ensure client safety and privacy but shouldn’t they also be looking into the measures to ensure employee privacy rights are not violated?
Viewing an employee’s Facebook as a friend on their friends list is one thing and can even open the boundaries of communication that are always attempted to achieve with open door policies. However, judging character is truly a biased opinion when reviewing someone’s public posts as it may not be who they truly are. Personal and intellectual properties are also at stake when a set of login credentials are given over to another. It is almost like handing them your diary because they said they would fire you if you did not. In the end, privacy takes the biggest role in the debate on whether it should be allowed for employers to access personal Facebook’s with login credentials for an employee. I say, give it time and it will become much more common and even the normalcy in society but as of today’s standpoint, it crosses way too many legal and ethical lines.
References
Jonsson, P. (2011, August 3). Will Missouri 'Facebook Law' spook teachers away from social media?. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG.
Lundquist, E. (2011). ‘Frictionless Sharing’ won’t work at work. Eweek, 28(16), 4.
Rogers, S. (2012). Essentials of Business Law. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Tread carefully in asking applicants for facebook, other passwords. (2012). HR Focus, 89(5), 5-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1014185035?accountid=32521