A recent article on Mashable talks about Congress trying to pass the Password Protection Act to keep employers from snooping around inside someone’s social media account.

This is one of those situations I can’t believe is actually happening. I honestly wondered if this was one of those urban legends, like the girl who baked herself in a tanning bed before prom.

A username/password allows someone to create or modify content. But this is not necessary if you just want to see what someone has publicly posted. It would be of no use to an employer unless they were trying to edit the posts or close the account, neither of which they have a right to do.

If an employer is asking for your login information, then it’s clear they doin’t understand how online accounts work. The most they need is a screen name to follow you. Perhaps that’s what they are really looking for?

Having said that, there is no way in hell I would give an employer my password. I don’t care what the law of even the company policy says. That is so beyond the boundary of ethical behavior that I would ask to speak with the company’s legal counsel and verbally challenge my continued employment with that company.

I’ve hinted about this in my previous post: Social Media Needs to Stay Social.