Minn. Lawmakers want to keep Facebook passwords private

Published 7:33 pm Wednesday, March 28, 2012

ST. PAUL – Conservative and liberal Minnesota legislators are combining efforts to stop a business practice they say invades job applicants’ privacy.

National reports in recent days have told of employers, both private and public, demanding passwords for social Internet sites potential employees use. The employers then have access to personal information of the job applicant.

“We want to protect the privacy of those job seekers,” Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, said about her bill.

“It’s a huge invasion of privacy,” added Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing.

The issue brings together some of the most conservative lawmakers, like Franson, and those among the most liberal, such as Melin and other Democrats who co-sponsor the newly introduced bill.

They join the American Civil Liberties Union and Google in opposing the practice.

“In recent months, we’ve seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information,” Google privacy officer Erin Egan wrote in a Friday blog. “This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends.”

Facebook and other social networking sites make some information available to the general public, but more personal information is available to people who have an account’s password.

Often, information available on such sites includes some that it is illegal for potential employers to ask, such as marital status and whether the person has children.

“What right do they have?” Franson asked.

The outspoken conservative said information that could be obtained includes political affiliation or whether an applicant parties a lot.

“Our personal life is our personal life,” Franson said.

While most legislative deadlines have passed, Franson said she hopes her bill can be amended onto another bill and pass this legislative session. Melin said at least the bill opens discussion on the topic so next year’s Legislature could take action.

Don Davis works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the News Tribune.