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News / Northwest

Senator: Employers shouldn’t ask Facebook password

The Columbian
Published: March 21, 2012, 5:00pm

SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. senator from Connecticut says he is writing a bill that would stop employers from asking a job applicant’s Facebook and other social media passwords.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told the Associated Press on Thursday that such practice is a “unreasonable invasion of privacy for people seeking work.”

The AP reported this week that some private and public agencies around the country are asking jobseekers for their social media credentials.

The practice has alarmed privacy advocates, and giving out Facebook login information also violates the social network’s terms of service. But those terms have questionable legal weight, and experts say the legality of asking for such information remains murky.

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