Social Media Privacy for Employees Not in Final Mass. Budget
An amendment in the Massachusetts Senate’s proposed budget that sought to protect employees’ online privacy did not make its way into the final budget that the House and Senate are expected to pass.
The amendment had been co-opted from a Senate bill that the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU, which backed the bill as part of its privacy agenda, still hopes will come to a vote before the legislative session effectively ends on July 31. It is common for policy initiatives tacked on to a given chamber’s budget not to make it through to the final version, but the ACLU had hoped this one was non-controversial enough to make it through.
The bill bans employers from requiring employees or applicants to hand over their social media log-in information, or from requiring employees to accept invitations to connect on social media. It would also extend the same protections from school administrators to students.
The bill is similar to an earlier House bill that did not include protections for students.
Gavi Wolfe, legislative counsel for the ACLU in Massachusetts, says the bill does not interfere with employers’ abilities to consider employees’ and applicants’ “public’’ social media activity. Instead, it prevents employers from being able to log in to their specific profiles and see what they might be doing in more private digital settings, such as in direct messaging.
It would also mean employees and applicants would legally be protected from sharing the same things with their bosses as they do with the friends and families they choose to connect with, because employers would not be allowed to require they connect. Without becoming Facebook friends, for example, employers would only be able to see status updates or photos their employees have set for the public to see.
“We make the choice to show different people different things in our life,’’ Wolfe said. “(People) should be able to have the same sort of privacy they have in their personal life in online life.’’
Wolfe noted that 12 other states have already passed similar legislation.
The bill has been through the State House’s Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, putting it in what Wolfe called “tip-top shape’’ should the Senate look to take it up again. Amendments to the bill have added protections for employers to continue to enforce workplace social media or Internet policies.
A spokesperson for the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Cynthia S. Creem (D-Newton), said the office will work to advance the bill before the session closes at the end of July.
By the way, if your boss demands your user name and password to a one of your social media accounts, you really should consider making a brand new account over at Monster.com. (Don’t use the same password.)
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