SOCIAL MEDIA BACKGROUND CHECKS ON THE RISE

The rise of social media has already had numerous implications for career professionals both in the way they provide service to constituents and in the way constituents go about their job search.  One of the hottest legal issues centers around the social media background check.  The social media background check grew in attention when the company, Social Intelligence Corp was given the green light by the FTC to scan and collect user profile information to be used in social media background checks as a service for employers.  Employment Screening Resources (ESR) named social media backgrounds checks as the number 6 top trend in employment screening in 2011's 4th annual ESR's Top 10 Trends in Background Checks report.  Just one year later, in 2012's fifth annual ESR Top Trends report, social media background checks have moved up to the third top trend and it is growing in controversy.  

LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS EMPLOYER REQUESTS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE LOGIN INFORMATION

Lawmakers in San Francisco, Maryland, Illinois, and San Jose have proposed bills that would prevent employers from requesting social media log in information of potential job candidates - http://bit.ly/H2YfGW.  As career professionals who advise students on how they present themselves professionally and how to interview, social media has opened up a can of worms from which we have yet to see the full implications.  As discussed in Developing a Social Media Strategy for Career Services, social media has many implications and these legal screening practices are indicative of more to come in the future.  

Do you think Employers should have the right to ask for social media profile information?  Should bills be passed to prevent this practice or is it up to job seekers to simply police their online digital footprints?