Should employers be asking job applicants for social network passwords?



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In my opinion, they shouldn't. Asking for an applicant’s username and password is going too far.  If it’s private, no one has the right to intrude. There should be a line between personal and private and this would seem to violate it.

Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities reads, “You will not share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything … that might jeopardize the security of your account.” So to me this means employers may be violating the Facebook terms of use. 

What can you do if an employer asks for your login information? It's a tough decision, because not complying could cost you a job offer.  Also you would have to consider whether you would want to work for a company that didn't respect your privacy.  And would you want to have to worry about everything you post on Facebook and twitter during your term with that company?

Limiting social network checks to the applicant’s LinkedIn site (employer joining the network of the employee) makes more sense to me because that is a professional site, less likely to display information inappropriate to consider when hiring.