I wonder what the implications would be if facebook introduced a feature that allowed a potential employer to "buy" temporary access to a potential employees facebook data?
For example you apply for a job somewhere and the next time you log into facebook you get a message that reads something like.
"InitTech PLC has requested read only access to your account for 48 hours, please be aware that compliance with this is a condition of employment with InitTech PLC Allow/Deny"
Not to highjack the topic but I also read the IRS uses social media profiles to see if you are living above your means.
Something slightly similar to your "temporary access" theory happens if you owe the IRS even a small amount of money. They enter your bank account to seize cash and the bank charges you $100 for the inspection/invasion.
As for the topic at hand, I don't see why one cannot simply say they have no Facebook account. Since FB began, there have been more years of myself having no account than there have been of having one (meaning I'm a serial "account-deleter").
What if you created an account after being hired, or had plausible deniability to that effect? Would you be obligated to inform your employer whenever you manage other social media accounts?
The implications of this are terrifying. I'm glad that organizations like the ACLU are on this, because if corporations can set a precedent for this sort of privacy invasion, we're screwed to the nth degree.
If it is simply a screen to avoid applicants who would be massively unsuitable , membership of extreme political parties or heavily into drugs etc then perhaps not.
Otherwise you might need a form from HR for each social network you join.
The way I imagine this will play out in practice is that you will get companies who are "social reference agencies" or similar.
They will have special privileges with facebook etc and will be hired by other companies to screen applicant based on a number of factors and will produce a report for the client company that probably wouldn't contain any specific data etc but simply screen for any "red flags".
I would hope the US has similar privacy laws to Canada where a company that is solely responsible and has access to your personal data is required by law to use that data only in the ways you have explicitly permitted. If the company wishes to provide your data to a 3rd party or use it in some other means than what you agreed to they're liable for lawsuit and punishment.
I mean, sure, facebook could just update privacy agreement and have everyone agree to it then go this way but at that point I could demand my data to be removed/locked under law to prevent any one from using it in this manner.
What I assumed was that it would still ask permission from the user before sharing the data, but it might be the case that you are disqualified from a job opportunity if you do not share.
Why not? This already exists in the financial world. Banks, credit companies, etc. already self-report to the credit bureaus. An employer, or potential employer, is free to pull that information on you with consent.
For example you apply for a job somewhere and the next time you log into facebook you get a message that reads something like.
"InitTech PLC has requested read only access to your account for 48 hours, please be aware that compliance with this is a condition of employment with InitTech PLC Allow/Deny"