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Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis (Post 2133697)

Well law enforcement or clergy I think could be held to a bit different standard because your personal life is so critical to your public one.

This story is a pretty good example of how online profiles can ruin law enforcement officers and is the reason many of us either don't have online profiles or keep the ones we have plain vanilla/non offensive.

Quote:

In pictures, Vaughan Ettienne is a champion bodybuilder of surreal musculature. In conversation, he is polite and thoughtful.

And in the looking glass of his computer screen, he becomes a man of fierce, profane views on how to keep law and order. A few weeks ago, he posted a description of his mood on a MySpace account. “Devious,” he wrote.

The next day, a man accused of carrying a loaded gun would go on trial in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn — and in large part, the case rested on the credibility of Vaughan Ettienne, bodybuilder, Internet user and arresting officer.

What seemed like a simple gun possession case became an undeclared war over reality: Was Officer Ettienne a diligent cop who found a gun after chasing an ex-convict weaving through traffic on a stolen motorcycle? Or was his story a “devious” facade in keeping with the ruthless character he revealed on social network Web sites?

“You have your Internet persona, and you have what you actually do on the street,” Officer Ettienne said on Tuesday. “What you say on the Internet is all bravado talk, like what you say in a locker room.”

Except that trash talk in locker rooms almost never winds up preserved on a digital server somewhere, available for subpoena. The man on trial, Gary Waters, claimed that Officer Ettienne and his partner stopped him, beat him and then planted a gun on him to justify breaking three of his ribs.

Suddenly, Officer Ettienne was being held to the words that he wrote in cyberspace.

Besides the “devious” mood setting, the jurors learned that a few weeks before the trial, the officer posted this status on his Facebook page: “Vaughan is watching ‘Training Day’ to brush up on proper police procedure.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/nyregion/11about.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow (Post 2134186)

Facebook standing up for privacy? Wow.

Shocking, isn't it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow (Post 2134186)

Facebook standing up for privacy? Wow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle (Post 2134270)

Shocking, isn't it?

Not so shocking if you think about it. If people start deleting accounts out of fear of this happening to them, Facebook loses money or even goes out of business.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee (Post 2134278)

Not so shocking if you think about it. If people start deleting accounts out of fear of this happening to them, Facebook loses money or even goes out of business.

Exactly. This is a business-savvy position for Facebook.

I don't have a problem with an employer asking to view my facebook. I do have a problem with them demanding that we be friends and of course with anyone asking for my password. I'm going to be a teacher so my facebook is pretty clean. Anything PG-13 has been set so that only certain people can see it. I would never, ever friend students or their parents (and will likely have a professional profile for that kind of communication with no personal information). I friend people I want to communicate socially with. IMO this does not have to include employers. I'm currently friends with employers on facebook, but they're from summer jobs and camp counselor jobs. They can't see my entire profile. Again, if they asked, I would allow them to view it. But I personally WANT that professional separation between employer and employee, so I do not treat them as friends, especially on facebook.

I understand why employers feel the need to check. And I understand that certain professionals (law enforcement, clergy, teachers, etc.) receive a little more scrutiny. But passwords? Forced friending? Not ok, IMO.

Whoa. It's Alumiyum *waves*

They're talking about this on the Today show right now. The senate is looking at a bill against this practice.

People should start to put a list together of all employers/companies who have asked for passwords and facebook access and publish it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaggieXi (Post 2134889)

People should start to put a list together of all employers/companies who have asked for passwords and facebook access and publish it.

Like!

The most controversial thing my employer would find on my Facebook is posts during working hours, but I use my phone, so they can't claim misuse of company property. I leave most of my posts public, but most of my posts are things like pics & reviews from the Charlotte Observer of recent performances, recipes & pics of things I've made, and random inane comments & meme pics. I post some religious stuff (verses, quotes, pics), but I don't go over the top with that, either. I'm conscious that a lot of my posts are public and post accordingly. My actual info (location, email, phone) is friends only.

I had to get to work so I couldn't post more about the Today show piece on it. Both lawyers and lawmakers are saying it's a complete invasion of privacy.. the equivalent of making someone provide them with their house keys so their house can be searched. The biggest issue though, was that they'd have all the information that they aren't allowed to ask about.

When I was interviewing for my first IT job, I included a URL of my personal web site because part of the job was going to be maintaining the department's intranet site. However, I chose to give them that URL and I knew it included the things they weren't allowed to ask me about. I also already worked for that health system and was looking to transfer, which I see as different than a new hire. And, part of my logic was that I wouldn't want to work for someone who had a problem with me having young children anyway. As it turned out, the department was very family friendly! The man who became my boss did say something like "You know that web site had all the information that we're not allowed to ask on it, don't you?" I said "Yes, I know and I'm not concerned about that"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...b-seekers.html

I'm very glad that Canada has strong privacy legislation - although it's driven me nuts in its restrictiveness, it's very good in other ways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xidelt (Post 2133444)

What if you give your password to said employer, they log in to your account and post some horrible stuff? Are you responsible for what is on your profile?

A very valid point as well. Or what if they change the password on you and you can't get back in, and now they are misrepresenting themselves as you.

I could totally see someone doing that (upon conclusion of the interview, and the applicant has left) to creep on people. Sick, I tell you!!