A couple of weeks ago, Maryland became the first state to fight back against employers who demand access to their employees’ Facebook accounts.  Now, California is aiming to be the second state to delve into this particular matter.

Of course, Maryland’s SB 433 and HB 964 bills don’t only deal with Facebook, but they also include all social media accounts.  They prohibit the employer from requiring or even requesting the user names, passwords, or any other means of accessing employees’ social media accounts.

Employers, for whatever reason, should not have any rights to require you to provide your social media account username and password information.  You, on the other hand, have the right to privacy in such things.  Unfortunately, there are only a few Internet privacy laws that deal with social media that can protect employees in this regard.

Authored by Democratic Assembly member Nora Campos, the AB1844 bill that was introduced in February, seeks to ban employers from requiring existing or potential employees to provide their user account passwords for social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

There are other states keeping watchful eyes on this particular approach, such as Illinois and Michigan.  There are also reports that members of the House and Senate are considering similar legislation at the national level.

For more about this particular topic, visit http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/california-to-ban-employers-asking-for-your-facebook-password/12978

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams  on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

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.