Online invasion.

• Author: Greenberg, Pam
• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS - Privacy law on personal Internet accounts

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I fan employer asks for your Facebook password, is it the same as if they'd asked to read your diary or open your mail? Some lawmakers think so, and are sponsoring bills to make such inquiries illegal.

"If 50 years ago, as part of the interview process, an employer said they needed to look through your mail or put a bug on your phone before they would hire you, it simply would not have been tolerated," says Michigan Representative Paul Opsommer (R). He's supporting a bill to prevent employers from requesting passwords to personal Internet accounts--including email, banking and social networking sites--in order to get or keep a job. Students also would not have to grant access to their social networking accounts in university applications. Opsommer believes the bill reflects a "very traditional and conservative stance to push back against the efforts of those looking to turn peoples' lives into their own personal fish bowl just because the law has not kept pace with the digital age."

Delaware, Illinois and Maryland were the first states to address this privacy concern. Delaware now prohibits public and private higher education institutions from asking students and student applicants for passwords or other account information.

Maryland and Illinois passed bans on employers requesting passwords and account information. Maryland's law prevents employers from taking disciplinary action against employees or from not hiring applicants who refuse to disclose personal online information. Employers, however, are allowed to investigate employees who use a personal account for business purposes, to ensure they comply with legal and regulatory...