In a nod to student’s online privacy, the Delaware Senate passed HB 309 on Saturday – a bill that prevents private and public schools from prying into the social media activities of students.

Social media attorney Bradley Shear lauds the passage of the bill, “The bill is a win for the personal privacy rights of students.” The bill stills need to be signed by the governor in order to become effective, a move that will “protect secondary schools from social media monitoring lawsuits while also protecting the personal digital privacy rights of students,” Shear added. He further stressed that, since it is not the duty of the schools to monitor the off-campus activities of the students, the same applies to the off-campus digital activities of the students.

Other states may soon follow Delaware’s lead and start passing laws that respect and protect the rights and privacy of students in using social networking sites. California has its own version of the Delaware’s law, the “bill on student privacy in social media”, which is already under deliberation in the state’s Assembly Committee on Higher Education.

Other states are also active in promoting employees’ and applicants’ online privacy. Maryland passed social media privacy legislation which officially became law in May. Illinois passed its own version of that law and is now only waiting for the governor’s signature.
Another Delaware bill, the HB 308 which focuses on employer access to social media accounts is still up for deliberations in the state’s senate.

AB 1844, the California’s workplace bill, has now passed the senate’s committee level and is up for deliberations in the senate floor.

Even the national government is now into online privacy. The proposed Social Networking Online Protection Act or SNOPA which prohibits employers from asking for access to social networking accounts of employees and applicants is being seriously considered by a congressional committee, we’ll have to wait and see if it ever moves forward for passage.

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Do Not Track + is a FREE browser plugin created by Abine. This easy to install plugin keeps websites from tracking you. If you value your online privacy, then you should definitely take advantage of this free product.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.