Reinforcing the Social Media Wall
With the rapid evolution of technology and the integration of social media in everyday life, more and more of a person’s life is lived and documented on social media. The scenario in which an employer or interviewer requests Facebook and email passwords is growing increasingly common. Even some universities and schools have required students to turn over user names and passwords. With more and more such cases reported to the National Labor Relations Board and Facebook, California Governor Jerry Brown took a step towards preserving privacy online. Governor Brown signed into law two social media privacy laws giving California employees and students online rights. Assembly Bill 1844 and Senate Bill 1349 prohibit employers and universities from requiring or demanding email and social media username and passwords. According to the assembly member who authored the bill, Assembly Bill 1844 is a preemptive measure offering guidelines to the accessibility of private information behind the social media wall. The companion bill, Senate Bill 1349, prohibits colleges and universities from requiring social media and email login information from current and prospective students.
These bills resemble the currently-stagnant federal legislation, namely the Password Protection Act (PPA) and the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), and as such present similar limitations. However, the California laws present great steps toward regulating access to online accounts..
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