Need A Job? First You'll Have To List Your On-Line Sites

Okay this is getting ridiculous. First credit checks, now web-sites. This is how the PTB control behavior, dissent and free speech without actually having to repeal any laws protecting us. I sincerely hope the ACLU takes on this issue.

montanasnewsstation.com...

Applying for a job with the City of Bozeman? You may be asked to provide more personal information than you expected.

That was the case for one person who applied for employment with the City. The anonymous viewer emailed the news station recently to express concern with a component of the city's background check policy, which states that to be considered for a job applicants must provide log-in information and passwords for social network sites in which they participate.

The requirement is included on a waiver statement applicants must sign, giving the City permission to conduct an investigation into the person's "background, references, character, past employment, education, credit history, criminal or police records."

"Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.," the City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords.

www.boingboing.net...

When questioned, the City Attorney stated it was a matter of "safety". Once again Americans are asked to choose between safety and liberty.

[edit on 18-6-2009 by Sergeant Stiletto]

Okay, asking for you to list personal and business websites is one thing.

Asking for the keys to your virtual house is another!

Does an employer have the right to demand that you give them your keys to your personal car or your personal house? Then why do they think that they have the right to ask for the keys to your online domains?

When they asked for login information such as your User Names and Passwords they crossed the line and deserve to be sued at this point.

Hopefully no one was so stupid as to turn over this information to the City of Bozeman.

FYI, I don't know a single employer that doesn't Google Search applicant's names and review their Facebook/MySpace/Twitter pages. It's common practice. If you are looking for a job, you clean up your online presence to be as presentable as you make yourself for an interview. (And never, ever, under any circumstances, do you turn over your PASSWORD to anything to anyone. Those that need to know your Password already have the means to reset it. Don't be a gump!)

reply to post by Sergeant Stiletto


This doesn't surprise me at all. Nothing the government does surprise's me anymore, we were once a free society but not anymore.

I expect more like this in the future, look at the trouble Iran is having keeping information from getting out.

Im surprised that they don't want your email and password.

there is no longer a thing called privacy in the good ol USA.

reply to post by LDragonFire


Well the article states that Bozeman does want user names and passwords for on-line sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc.

its things like this that i keep several different emails and user names
dont know whatd id do without gmail lol

There is a LOT of stuff that prospective employers by law cannot ask you, i.e., age, race, gender, sexual orientation, family status, disability, religion, political affiliation, etc. Another thing they cannot by law ask an applicant about is asking what social organizations they belong to. It is presumed that disclosure of affiliation with a social organization would allow a prospective employer the ability to unlawfully derive information from this like your age, political beliefs, religion, etc. By asking for your online social affiliations such as Facebook/Myspace/Twitter/Etc. information this would undoubtedly put the City of Bozeman in direct violation of these Federally mandated Equal Employment Opportunity laws.

My co-workers and I were joking about this on our break and came up with some creative ideas of how to deal with an employer who asks for this information (without letting them know you're reporting them to the EEOC for violating Federal Law):

1.) Disclose your passwords as ******** (because that's what it shows on your screen).

2.) Disclose your passwords as "violatesCivilRightsAct1991"

3.) Disclose your passwords as "Same one I use for my Bank Account, duh!"

4.) Disclose your passwords in Upper-ASCII or Cyrillic or Wingbats or something that would be too difficult for Human Resources to figure out how to type on a QWERTY keyboard.

5.) Create fake Facebook/MySpace/Twitter/Etc. accounts and disclose the actual passwords for those fake accounts. Later, use these accounts to defame yourself and sue the City of Bozeman for Slander, Defamation of Character, and violation of the DCMA Act.

Seriously though, this sounds like a new version of the Nigerian 411 Scams.

1) Make up phony job.
2) Put up lots of "now hiring" signs and put advertisements on Craigslist and in the local paper.
3) Ask for online account information, passwords.
4) Commit massive Identity Theft
5) PROFIT!

reply to post by Sergeant Stiletto


It's ineffective, as mentioned before. People can set up dummy accounts and provide that info on their application form. If they were serious, they would confiscate your home computer(s) and see what you've been doing online - without your permission and whenever they want. Oh wait, they can do that already to anyone they want thanks to the patriot act.

I would recommend at this point modifying even the use policy here, which should explicitly state that 1) NOBODY is authorized to give or allow another to use their ID/PW, and 2) NO IMPOSTORS, OR GOVERNMENT entities, or their representative(s), are authorized to use this site, regardless of ANY member authorization from another to use their ID and PW or NOT! It might not stop anyone from peeking down your pants, but it may one day give you grounds for a law suit and some easy $$$!

I'm a member of a couple of secure sites, where every page is encrypted (ssl). If you are not an invited and approved member, you ain't getting in. And, without a search warrant, ain't nobody unauthorized is getting in (well, unless you violate use policy and give someone else your ID and PW).