AfterDawn: News

California governor signs bill to block employers from asking for social networking passwords

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a new bill that will prevent employers and universities from demanding your Twitter and Facebook login credentials.

Assembly Bill 1844 and Senate Bill 1349 both passed in the state Senate last month and will now be law.



AB–1844 will block employers from asking prospective workers (and current employees) for their social networking usernames and passwords as well as blocking them from asking employees to login in their presence. The law also protects employees from any sort of "retaliation" if they do not comply with a request for their credentials.

SB-1349 gives the same rights to students in colleges.

California's laws follow legislation recently passed in Maryland, Delaware and Illinois and proposed in at least 10 other states.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Sep 2012 21:55

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• 18 comments

• JGJD2001

  jeez i would create a fake one and give em that.....what if you don't have one !!!

  29.9.2012 07:56 #1

• Semperfipal

  Good law, Corporate American is already to powerful. Pretty soon they'll want to put CCTV cameras in and around our homes to make sure we live the lives they say we should. What you do after work hours is none of their damn business.
  

  "Do not underestimate the power of an enemy, no matter how great or small, to rise against you another day." - Atilla

  29.9.2012 08:20 #2

• gmderbosch (unverified)

  The Bill is kind of strange anyway. How come American Employees and students were so dumb to hand over their passwords? Any employer who asked for that before committed a crime and should have been tried like rapists!!!!

  29.9.2012 12:35 #3

• blueboy09

  Personally, it's none of their damn business what I do in my personal life, and I would never work for a corportation that is uptight as Homeland Security, no matter how much they paid me.
  

  Chance prepares the favored mind. Look up once in a while and you might learn something. - BLUEBOY

  29.9.2012 15:47 #4

• WebsterDictionary (unverified)

  Originally posted by blueboy09: Personally, it's none of their damn business what I do in my personal life, and I would never work for a corportation that is uptight as Homeland Security, no matter how much they paid me. Don't worry... I don't think you will ever have to worry about working for a "corportation" because you can't even spell corporation. Keep flipping those burgers is all you will need to worry about. LOL!!!!!!

  30.9.2012 16:16 #5

• Blessedon

  Irrelevant "feel good" bill; Since corportations (couldn't stop myself) can still legally log social network users keystrokes on their systems...
  Plus, everything about us is openly available from any database.
  

  30.9.2012 18:57 #6

• Qliphah

  Originally posted by Blessedon: Irrelevant "feel good" bill; Since corportations (couldn't stop myself) can still legally log social network users keystrokes on their systems...
  Plus, everything about us is openly available from any database. I wouldn't know about the database part... but yes if you use a company network to check these accounts they can still get your account info. Along with ay data you send/recv. And that will be perfectly legal even after this bill. So all we've accomplished is now they don't ask.. nay can't ask.. for it.

  2.10.2012 11:45 #7

• Zoo_Look

  If you use a corportate *rolls eyes* connection to access anything, they have the right and responsibility under law to ensure that you are not committing any offences. Failure to do this would make them in part liable as it was their connection that was used in perpetration of that offence.
  

  5.10.2012 11:26 #8

• xboxdvl2

  Originally posted by Zoo_Look: If you use a corportate *rolls eyes* connection to access anything, they have the right and responsibility under law to ensure that you are not committing any offences. Failure to do this would make them in part liable as it was their connection that was used in perpetration of that offence. basically dont do anything or access anything on a work computer or a work network that you dont want them knowing about.
  
  i had to add a link for a laugh.link
  

  R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.got myself a 1993 toyota corolla seems to run good.computers still going good.

  6.10.2012 06:32 #9

• Zoo_Look

  I never understood why employers were willing to allow access to social networking sites anyway? You're there to work, not upload pictures of your cousin's new baby.
  
  Hopefully, this will prompt more employers to actively block social networking sites. Hell, if I ran a business, I would already be disciplining anyone using them on my network. There are more then enough people out there that can type letters up, if you don't wanna do it, fuck off and let someone who does earn your pay.
  
  My hatred for this practice stems from government departments (I live in UK) allowing people to use FB at work. That's MY TAXES paying people to use FB, while at the same time, public spending/services are being reduced and taxes are always creeping up. WTF? I can see a way to save a few million per year... sack the cunts who are currently getting paid MY and other worker's money to talk to their family and friends instead of answer phones.
  
  Maybe then, we can afford books for schools, or have our bins emptied sometimes...
  
  Corportate Identity Theft?
  

  6.10.2012 07:39 #10

• aldan

  Originally posted by Zoo_Look: I never understood why employers were willing to allow access to social networking sites anyway? You're there to work, not upload pictures of your cousin's new baby.
  
  Hopefully, this will prompt more employers to actively block social networking sites. Hell, if I ran a business, I would already be disciplining anyone using them on my network. There are more then enough people out there that can type letters up, if you don't wanna do it, fuck off and let someone who does earn your pay.
  
  My hatred for this practice stems from government departments (I live in UK) allowing people to use FB at work. That's MY TAXES paying people to use FB, while at the same time, public spending/services are being reduced and taxes are always creeping up. WTF? I can see a way to save a few million per year... sack the cunts who are currently getting paid MY and other worker's money to talk to their family and friends instead of answer phones.
  
  Maybe then, we can afford books for schools, or have our bins emptied sometimes...
  
  Corportate Identity Theft? absolutely right!!!
  

  6.10.2012 13:59 #11

• JOHNSTARR

  Originally posted by Zoo_Look: I never understood why employers were willing to allow access to social networking sites anyway? You're there to work, not upload pictures of your cousin's new baby.
  
  Hopefully, this will prompt more employers to actively block social networking sites. Hell, if I ran a business, I would already be disciplining anyone using them on my network. There are more then enough people out there that can type letters up, if you don't wanna do it, fuck off and let someone who does earn your pay.
  
  My hatred for this practice stems from government departments (I live in UK) allowing people to use FB at work. That's MY TAXES paying people to use FB, while at the same time, public spending/services are being reduced and taxes are always creeping up. WTF? I can see a way to save a few million per year... sack the cunts who are currently getting paid MY and other worker's money to talk to their family and friends instead of answer phones.
  
  Maybe then, we can afford books for schools, or have our bins emptied sometimes...
  
  Corportate Identity Theft? This bill has nothing to do with FB / Twitter usage at the workplace.
  

  No time for Leap frog!!!

  7.10.2012 07:58 #12

• aldan

  Originally posted by JOHNSTARR: Originally posted by Zoo_Look: I never understood why employers were willing to allow access to social networking sites anyway? You're there to work, not upload pictures of your cousin's new baby.
  
  Hopefully, this will prompt more employers to actively block social networking sites. Hell, if I ran a business, I would already be disciplining anyone using them on my network. There are more then enough people out there that can type letters up, if you don't wanna do it, fuck off and let someone who does earn your pay.
  
  My hatred for this practice stems from government departments (I live in UK) allowing people to use FB at work. That's MY TAXES paying people to use FB, while at the same time, public spending/services are being reduced and taxes are always creeping up. WTF? I can see a way to save a few million per year... sack the cunts who are currently getting paid MY and other worker's money to talk to their family and friends instead of answer phones.
  
  Maybe then, we can afford books for schools, or have our bins emptied sometimes...
  
  Corportate Identity Theft? This bill has nothing to do with FB / Twitter usage at the workplace. technically it doesnt,but it sure brings up a valid point.now would be a good time to make yours.
  

  7.10.2012 13:59 #13

• Zoo_Look

  Not quite the point I was making, but nice try. What I was saying is that hopefully, as a "side effect" of this bill, employers will be indirectly compelled to prevent that kind of personal access. Since they now have no means of getting employees to show them what they post, and since they will be held in part accountable for their employees potentially libelous posts, any smart employer would just block that access.
  

  7.10.2012 14:02 #14

• aldan

  Originally posted by Zoo_Look: Not quite the point I was making, but nice try. What I was saying is that hopefully, as a "side effect" of this bill, employers will be indirectly compelled to prevent that kind of personal access. Since they now have no means of getting employees to show them what they post, and since they will be held in part accountable for their employees potentially libelous posts, any smart employer would just block that access. thats what i got out of it.
  

  7.10.2012 15:11 #15

• Zoo_Look

  Sorry, my bad. That was for JOHNSTARR.
  

  7.10.2012 15:33 #16

• ps355528

  Don't you know.. you lost the right to say "my employer is an exploiting tossbag" a few years ago.. Any prospective employer who asks me for my online details gets the finger, then hacked :)
  

  
  
  ARR! Them pesky Navy! Get out of my sea!
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  7.10.2012 16:05 #17

• aldan

  Originally posted by ps355528: Don't you know.. you lost the right to say "my employer is an exploiting tossbag" a few years ago.. Any prospective employer who asks me for my online details gets the finger, then hacked :) jeez id give em all five.
  

  7.10.2012 18:38 #18