Sharing Facebook Password
Employers and schools nowadays evaluate applicants from their social media accounts. For example, the applicant’s Facebook profile could be used to get information such as age, residence and even academic history. What worries Joanna Stern in the article, “Demanding Facebook Passwords May Break Law, Say Senators” is the fact that employers and schools require employees and students to give their Facebook passwords to access their profiles. This practice poses unanticipated legal liabilities. Thus, government officials have rose against the practice. Indeed, requiring a user to share Facebook account’s password for access to the user’s profile is morally wrong and does not meet its intended objective.
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Such information could cause organizations to make wrong conclusions on a user based on the wrongful information on the user.
However, this practice has been noted to be beneficiary in understanding the character of an employee or student. Going through their profiles would reveal more on their relationships and interactions with other people. This would help organizations get the rightful applicants because an error in this could result in irreparable harm. Even so, as this practice becomes widespread, people would always clean their accounts before interviews to depict the needful and erase the undesired. This way, employers and schools would not gather useful information as the profile would have been customized to impress. Additionally, people could operate Facebook accounts to be used for interviews. Such accounts would contain what would be considered desirable for interviewers. They would have other accounts for normal socialization. Therefore, at the end of it, interviewers who access their Facebook accounts get wrong information on the interviewee.
Despite the increased practice of requiring interviewees to provide passwords for their Facebook accounts so as to analyze their profiles, the practice does not meet its goals. It is an infringement into people’s privacy thus illegal. More wrong than right information would be retrieved as most people use disguised identities on social media.
An online profile can convey a lot about one. A lot of times, one’s digital body can say a lot more than their physical can (Source F). This can be either a good thing or a bad thing. The good side of it may show talents that could contribute to the applicant. The bad may show traits of racism or the using of illegal substances. It is one’s responsibility to be aware of what they post on social media.
“Why asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password is Fair Game” by Alfred Edmond Jr. discusses on the argument whether or not an employer should have access to the Facebook account of their future employee. Edmond accounts for multiple events in his essay where asking Facebook password is a fair game, and also describes events where it’s not a fair game to ask for employee password. Inclusively, Edmond pivots on both views of the argument with great deal of explanation. Edmond explains argument on whether or not an employer should give access to their Facebook account with logic and his experience in the business sector.
Higher education law attorney Dana L. Fleming voices her controversial opinion in favor of institutionalized involvement in social network protection in her article “Youthful Indiscretions: Should Colleges Protect Social Network Users from Themselves and Others?” (Fleming). Posted in the New England Journal of Higher Education, winter of 2008 issue, Fleming poses the question of responsibility in monitoring students’ online social networking activities. With a growing population of students registering on social networks like Facebook and MySpace, she introduces the concern of safety by saying, “like lawmakers, college administrators have not yet determined how to handle the unique issues posed by the public display of their students’
One of the most highly debated issues in the business world is the use of social media profiles as a determining factor in the hiring process. Some people feel that using someone’s social media profile is an invasion of privacy because it uses something from their personal life to determine their professional success. As long as the company follows some basic guidelines I believe there is nothing wrong with them looking into the profiles of their potential employees. It is important to point out that while looking at many of the different ethical ideologies, this practice does not violate the ethical conducts. Teleologists would agree that looking into someones profile will ensure that you are hiring someone who will conduct themselves in a proper manner. Therefore, the means of looking into their personal lives justifies the ends in which you hire a professional with good character. Deontologists would likely agree that as long as the company does not try to find loop holes to see into protected accounts that they are respecting the rights of the individual and therefore are not being unethical. I believe that it is reasonable for a company to use social media profiles as a basis for hiring because everything posted on the internet is public domain, it allows them to get an understanding of who the potential client is, and you want to ensure that you are hiring someone who fits in to your company.
With employers having access to a wide range of networking sites, it is more efficient for them to look up additional information about the candidate while saving cost and time. One research showed that a candidate was able to secure a job because their social media profile showed them as creative, well-rounded, and a good fit for the company (Budden, Elkersh, Vicknair, & Yancey, 2010). Companies use this data in order to inspect whether a candidate maybe outgoing. For example, someone who does not have any social networking profile is thought to be likely hiding something or is introverted or is not well-versed with technology (which is a requirement for most professional jobs). Companies can weed out candidates using this information and possibly find applicants that are likely to fit in with their corporate culture.
Olivia Perkins writes in “More Than Half of Employers Now Use Social Media to Screen Job Candidates, Poll Says; Even Send Friend Requests”, the do’s and don’ts for creating the perfect profile. According to Perkins, interviewers prefer applicants with social media accounts over applicants without them (line 8), just to give an extra bit of knowledge to who the applicant truly is. This article relates to articles “Student Awareness of the Use of Social Media Screening by Prospective Employers” by Terri Root and Sandra McKay and “The Law and Social Media in Hiring” by Johnathon Segal because all three use a mass number of stats and percentages in their writing. “60 percent are looking for information that supports their qualifications for the
Because adolescents are growing up with more access to social networking, texting and instant messaging on various sites have become prime means of communication. While this is not necessarily bad, many people feel the need to over-share things about their personal lives online. More and more people are using Facbeook and more and more employers are using Facebook to scope out potential employees. If there are inappropriate pictures and comments all over someone’s Facebook page, they are more likely to not receive the job. Some students get in trouble for things they post on Facebook and Twitter. Some users are beginning to notice this and have started deactivating their accounts to regain a sense of privacy. CNN’s article “The anti-social network: Life without Facebook”, states that some students who are trying to maintain a professional image for future employment are deleting their pages.
Social Media is a current way in which people are using to interact with one another daily. Since the launch of various Social Networking Sites (SNS) its been a huge attraction in a new way to share information with others and correspond with interests of your choice in many different forms. Although social media sites allow users to share information with friends and other sites on the internet, many people are unaware of how their privacy is getting out. Now that the expansion of global connection through these social media networking sites are so highly present in todays society, giving us easy access to information, the lack of one's privacy is being diminished. Everyday peoples privacy rights are
“When applicants apply, they will be asked to provide personal identifying information (under the guise of conducting reference/background checks). A computer algorithm will then use this information to elicit additional information from this applicant’s Facebook page,” (Case Assignment #1, page 2). When Malik Oden requests personal information from new applicants to use for a purpose other than background and reference checks, he violates the ethical principle of honesty. Not only does this violate the privacy of applicants, but it also begins a dishonest professional relationship on Malik’s part. Regardless of the possible benefit of this system for Malik, it is ethically wrong. Integrity is an essential characteristic of a good leader and
Facebook is a well know social networking site that has taken all over the world with over 500 million people using the site. Social networking sites such as Facebook share information about the user over the Internet, where it can be freely accessed by anyone. This is where issues of privacy to the individual arise. As of July 2010 Facebook has more than 500 million active users, Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. As of December last year, Facebook called its 500 million users to review their privacy settings at the launch of its new user control tools which allow the user to control their information easily depending on
The above mentioned example is one of many questioning the credibility of the social networking sites. The fact that anyone can go to a person’s profile and save his/her picture to be used as desired is uncomfortable and disturbing. Another method for the disruption of ethical boundaries in regards to these networking channels is their utilization to conduct predatory marketing. The level of discomfort is high when a product/service is offered to a user on the basis of the needs assessment done by the exploitation of personal information. Some employers are also the culprits due to the fact that they make hiring decisions on the basis of prospective employee’s social network activities. These and many other scenarios lead problem solvers to come up with alternatives and implement productive decisions.
Social networking sites are a dangerously sharp double-edged sword. Professional sites such as LinkedIn can showcase one’s talents and provide an advantage within a large applicant pool while personal sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, myspace, even YouTube, if used irresponsibly, can make public many aspects of an individual’s private life which can reflect negatively, when viewed by others. The article “Didn’t get that new job? You need a better Facebook score” (Garling) highlights one of the many ways prospective employers can quantify someone based on their social media presence. The article describes a process whereby hiring managers rely on a consulting firm of sorts. This firm provides a score for each applicant based on their social media presence.
Social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook have created a new ethical dilemma for many businesses. Corporations, small businesses, and even universities are struggling create policies to manage their employees social networking behaviors. Social networking access, particularly for recruiters, can provide personal information about potential employees, which would otherwise not be available. A business must follow statutes and guidelines when disclosing information to the public. Individuals on social networking sites have no such constraints. Employees can and do make comments about their employers online. Employers can and do watch what employees post online. Any individual can send or post potentially damaging information
Social media nowadays are bombarding people’s lives whether it is Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, LinkedIn, Orkut, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Groupon, and many more. Social media has changed how people interact with each other and how they express themselves on the Internet. Facebook, for example, has really altered people’s perception of themselves. We hypothesize that this altered perception in turn influences their behavior on product choices and involvement with particular groups.
Social networking is a way for people to connect and share information with each other online.