As I saw commented elsewhere, giving up your password / access to another person appears to be a pretty clear violation of Facebook's TOS (terms of service). So, my first response might be to ask whether they are soliciting me to breach a legal contract that I've entered. (I'll leave my thoughts on the actual legality or interpretation and reasonableness of claimed legality on the part of the service provider, here Facebook, as a separate question for another time.) At a minimum, this might be enough to ensure e.g. that the unemployment agency decides in my favor with respect to unemployment insurance, if things happen to go that way.
I also recall another comment where someone pointed out that their friends on Facebook have an expectation of privacy in their own communications and that s/he will not compromise (betray) that expectation. That seems to me to be a pretty clear ethical argument. As a reasonable person, I would have a hard time challenging the ethics of such a response.
Finally, personally, I agree with other comments here, that the access and information is none of their business.
What perhaps some (not all) in the preponderance of relatively privileged professions represented on HN may not fully realize, is that for many people in the workforce there is effectively little or no choice. Jobs -- especially with decent pay and benefits -- are hard to come by, and many do not have the financial means to risk an episode or continuance of unemployment.
For the sake of those people, as well as ourselves, we need to band together in opposition to this behavior. Even for ourselves, if the practice becomes commonplace, that sets a precedent that may subsequently box us in.
I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is that if you could get a request like this in writing, the right lawyer would be able to get you a hefty settlement under existing law. Just guessing, but I'd be surprised if it's legal to ask prospective employees to engage in unlawful activities as a condition of employment. As mentioned before, sharing your Facebook password is illegal.
I'm certain that anyone asking to snoop through your Facbook knows they are doing something "wrong" - maybe they don't understand the full implications, but I'm sure none of them would be stupid enough to put the request in writing.
Anticipate the next time the boss "reminds" you to give him your password, and have your phone recording when it happens.
In many US states, it is legal to record a conversation if one of the parties is aware (i.e. if you are recording a conversation in which you are a participant).
I'm uncomfortable with doing this in normal circumstances, since it's a pretty manipulative way of getting a recording of someone. But if you're getting abusive requests from your employer and (I agree) you're not likely to get it in writing, this seems like the appropriate response.
There was a thread here on HN some time ago, where someone argued that it's illegal anyway, because of some misguided law that makes it a federal crime to violate an internet company's TOS. I can't find that thread right now, though.
That would be the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act[0,1]. The relevant bit is "Whoever ... intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains ... information from any protected computer ... shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section." A "protected computer", by the way, is any computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication."
That's not relevant, though, because US v. Lori Drew[2] decided that a user can't be prosecuted under the CFAA for breaking a ToS agreement. (BTW, IANAL.)
Which the prosecution used against Lori Drew, and ultimately failed. The hysteria about it being illegal to violate TOS was a feature of the original verdict against her, which was set aside on acquittal. It's a (now) non-story.
I also recall another comment where someone pointed out that their friends on Facebook have an expectation of privacy in their own communications and that s/he will not compromise (betray) that expectation. That seems to me to be a pretty clear ethical argument. As a reasonable person, I would have a hard time challenging the ethics of such a response.
Finally, personally, I agree with other comments here, that the access and information is none of their business.
What perhaps some (not all) in the preponderance of relatively privileged professions represented on HN may not fully realize, is that for many people in the workforce there is effectively little or no choice. Jobs -- especially with decent pay and benefits -- are hard to come by, and many do not have the financial means to risk an episode or continuance of unemployment.
For the sake of those people, as well as ourselves, we need to band together in opposition to this behavior. Even for ourselves, if the practice becomes commonplace, that sets a precedent that may subsequently box us in.