Want The Job? First, Let's See Your Social Networks Accounts

It was bound to happen.   Prospective employers asking demanding to inspect job applicants' social network accounts.

Employers and colleges find the treasure-trove of personal information hiding behind password-protected accounts and privacy walls just too tempting, and some are demanding full access from job applicants and student athletes.

In Maryland, job seekers applying to the state's Department of Corrections have been asked during interviews to log into their accounts and let an interviewer watch while the potential employee clicks through wall posts, friends, photos and anything else that might be found behind the privacy wall.

While the MSNBC article details the American experience, I wonder if one would have to look too hard to find the same thing here in Canada, particularly with employers.

Meanwhile a cautionary tale from the Electronic Frontier Foundation about privacy perils from online dating sites.


In "Six Heartbreaking Truths About Online Dating Privacy," EFF identifies serious security holes and counter-intuitive privacy settings that could expose daters' private information. For example, your dating profile – including your photo – can hang around long after you think you've taken yourself off the market. Some sites are also sucking up the vast quantity of data their users share and selling it to online marketers. If you aren't careful, your profile can also be indexed by Google, perhaps popping up in search results if you have an unusual nickname or other unique ways of describing yourself.

"Whether you signed up on a lark or maintained an active profile for years, you may be exposing more information about yourself than you know," said EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman. 

"There are a number of ways your online dating profile can be connected to your real identity, exposing things like religious and political beliefs, drug and alcohol use, and sexual preferences. That's why we created this list of the biggest risks, and included some simple tips for online daters who want to protect themselves."