California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law on Friday which forbids employers from requiring employees to divulge the usernames and passwords of their social media accounts, such as those for websites like Twitter and Facebook. This legislation also applies to job applicants. Institutions of higher education are also blocked from asking for the login information for any social media networks that their students may belong to.
California ranks as the fourth state to bring this sort of ban about this year. However, it is important to note that social media login information can still be requested by employers if it is necessary for the investigation of an employee. In the context of college students, universities can still require certain information in order to prevent against and investigate any suspected student misconduct.
The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2013.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/california-bans-employers-from-demanding-social-media-passwords/
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