Employer background check on facebook...

[BoomerD]

The only time I've ever been to Facebook or Myspace is when I followed a link...and didn't pay attention to what it was. <forehead slap icon>

 

[airdata]

its bullshit

id delete my FB accnt before i did that and i never use it

^

Erasing the separation between home and work life is dangerous.

 

[Blackjack200]

You know you can make it so nobody can search for you? Why didn't she do this?

Can't speak for the OP or his wife, but I'd guess so that people (like old friends) can search for her. Most people don't live in a constant state of paranoia.

 

[smakme7757]

Facebook has unfortunately gone from a free time place where people can write shit to an integrated part of our society.

Its also at the point where you have to have an account to know whats going on. People dont send an sms anymore, they write it on facebook. You should see my wife, glued to her mobile 24/7. No wonder employers want access, people document their whole life on that site.

"John Citizen checked in at 7-11 at 08:25"

Followed up by

"Just got myself a Pepsi"

Is it really strange employers want access??

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

 

[Grooveriding]

Most people I know, myself included, have their facebook set up with their real first name and some mashup that sort of is similar to our real last names.

We do this purely because of wanting to keep employer/co-workers from being able to take a look at our or our friends' private/social lives. I also have my FB set to the top level of privacy, that would also work if you really want to use your real name. No one can search you under those settings.

I don't want to have to find myself on a day I need to be at the office of my employer having a random co-worker ask me about my Saturday night drunkfest, or have one use my personal life against me in the workplace.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Everyone should have two Facebook accounts; one for your professional life, and one for your crazy coke orgies. Granted, that's advice that's coming from someone with zero Facebook accounts, but it makes sense; I have different e-mail accounts for personal and professional, I have a different wardrobe for personal and professional, why shouldn't I have different social media profiles for personal and professional? Your job shouldn't define your entire identity.

 

[theeedude]

Create a group with restricted access, they can only see contact info, not friends, not photos, not the wall, then add the dept to that group.

 

[Saint Nick]

Facebook has unfortunately gone from a free time place where people can write shit to an integrated part of our society.

Its also at the point where you have to have an account to know whats going on. People dont send an sms anymore, they write it on facebook. You should see my wife, glued to her mobile 24/7. No wonder employers want access, people document their whole life on that site.

"John Citizen checked in at 7-11 at 08:25"

Followed up by

"Just got myself a Pepsi"

Is it really strange employers want access??

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Imp]

Glad my profile pic doesn't show my face. Only I and one other person probably knows where that photo was taken and the context.

I also have a very common first and last name. There are 5 other people going by my name in my city alone.

 

[Nebor]

Pretty standard for units to order their soldiers to friend or like the unit facebook page, and then have some 1SG or CSM rifling through soldiers' facebooks trying to gig them for something. Had a guy get chewed out over the phone for wearing just a t-shirt under his body armor while we were climbing a mountain in 95 degree heat. Someone took a photo, it got on his facebook, and his CSM 3000 miles away saw it and flipped out.

 

[BurnItDwn]

you are under the impression that people only update their profiles from home. 50% is likely done during the work day.

I've never done FB though and this gives me another excuse when someone asks why I'm not on FB.

Yea, some people do use facebook from their phones if their work places are smart and block the IPs.

I dunno, I only log in to it once or twice per year, and only because my friends heckle me and annoy me, so I make an appearance and post a new picture or something.

 

[Vic Vega]

Pretty standard for units to order their soldiers to friend or like the unit facebook page, and then have some 1SG or CSM rifling through soldiers' facebooks trying to gig them for something. Had a guy get chewed out over the phone for wearing just a t-shirt under his body armor while we were climbing a mountain in 95 degree heat. Someone took a photo, it got on his facebook, and his CSM 3000 miles away saw it and flipped out.

Is there some reason you shouldn't wear a tshirt under your body armor or is this just an "out of uniform" thing?

 

[SP33Demon]

Can't speak for the OP or his wife, but I'd guess so that people (like old friends) can search for her. Most people don't live in a constant state of paranoia.

Nobody is finding me to cause such problems. If you're on my friends list, it's b/c I found them and sent the request.

 

[slayer202]

Create a group with restricted access, they can only see contact info, not friends, not photos, not the wall, then add the dept to that group.

does anyone think this would really satisfy the employer who was asking for access? .....

 

[ViviTheMage]

Facebook has unfortunately gone from a free time place where people can write shit to an integrated part of our society.

Its also at the point where you have to have an account to know whats going on. People dont send an sms anymore, they write it on facebook. You should see my wife, glued to her mobile 24/7. No wonder employers want access, people document their whole life on that site.

"John Citizen checked in at 7-11 at 08:25"

Followed up by

"Just got myself a Pepsi"

Is it really strange employers want access??

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

I had to laugh at the irony.

 

[Geekbabe]

Create a group with restricted access, they can only see contact info, not friends, not photos, not the wall, then add the dept to that group.

The employer has specifically asked to be "friended" they want full on access to friends,photo's and the wall.

 

[slayer202]

Nobody is finding me to cause such problems. If you're on my friends list, it's b/c I found them and sent the request.

and how would you find them if they had the same settings? :whiste:

 

[Lifted]

Sorry for not reading the whole thread, and I haven't used facebook in ages, but can't you create a group or circle with next to no permissions to view anything, then accept the employer as a friend (temporarily) and put them in that group?

I'd remove the employer after being hired anyway. Let them fire me over that and see me in court. At that point it's similar to ordering you to bring in your personal cell phone(s) every day so they can review your txt messages and personal emails written on your own time.

 

[MtnMan]

bullshit like this one of the reasons i will never have a social network account.

:thumbsup: yep, That zukerburger dude has screwed up many lives with his looser magnet....... and he's laughing all the way to the bank........

 

[Corporate Thug]

Sorry for not reading the whole thread, and I haven't used facebook in ages, but can't you create a group or circle with next to no permissions to view anything, then accept the employer as a friend (temporarily) and put them in that group?

I'd remove the employer after being hired anyway. Let them fire me over that and see me in court. At that point it's similar to ordering you to bring in your personal cell phone(s) every day so they can review your txt messages and personal emails written on your own time.

Yes, but I believe the employer sent the request as a "friend," not as an an acquaintance. As I explained in the thread, I don't believe FB accounts have the same level of privacy considerations as say txt messages or cell phones.

Let me try to draw an analogy: our courts have held that thermal devices that penetrate inside your house is a violation of privacy. You have a highest expectation of privacy inside your house. However, imagine having a party in your backyard. You intend for the party to be closed off to the general public but illegal activity is observed by a helicopter flying overhead. SCOTUS has held that the latter scenario does not violate the 4th amendment.

Facebook is similar to the latter than the former. Texts and phone calls are more similar to the latter.

 

[highland145]

:thumbsup: yep, That zukerburger dude has screwed up many lives with his looser magnet....... and he's laughing all the way to the bank........

Not him. Just made it accessible for stupid people to post their stupid crap and find their lost love(s), etc.

 

[The_Dude8]

She played her move wrong already.

She should've said she has no FB. If they ask, "Isn't that you?" You simply say no, someone else with same name.

They have like 12 matches of my name.

but if his wife has posted a picture of her as profile picture, how is she going to denied it wasn't her?

 

[MtnMan]

I think they can still get the info from facebook. If you consent to the background check, that gives them the right to contact facebook and gain access to even "deleted" accounts.

Dubious, but who the hell knows in this country any more. Land of the free, home of the brave, my ass, today, Americans are a bunch of sniveling cowards trampling each other in their rush to hand in their rights.

 

[Lifted]

As I explained in the thread, I don't believe FB accounts have the same level of privacy considerations as say txt messages or cell phones.

Is there a law stating this, or has a court ever made that determination? If so, I haven't heard about it. I understand phone calls have laws around them (and I assume txt msgs fall under those laws), but I have yet to hear of anyone determining the laws around privacy of facebook content.

The US Gov just recently decided to watch over facebooks privacy policies for the next 2 decades. I'd think that would bear some weight in court in its own right with regards to expected privacy of what people post on social networking sites.

 

[mmntech]

I've seen the argument over Facebook being a public forum. It's not. Twitter is, and ATOT is, but Facebook is a little different. You choose what to make available, and only to certain people. Thus it's a private social club. Employers have no right to that information.

The separation between work and home life is getting dangerously blurry. Cell phones and the BlackBerry started that. Certain employers began implicitly, then openly demanding their workers to be on call 24/7. They're using the recession to leverage more and more out of people, and are using tools like Facebook as an excuse to weed out the "riffraff". It's another symptom of our "gotcha" society. Everyone is spying on everyone else, and I think it's made us much worse off.

My advice to your wife, OP, would be to refuse their request. If they won't back down, tell her to decline the offer before they take it away from her. That puts her in the position of power and sends a strong message, even if it never will sink in. There are other jobs out there. Times may be tough but a job isn't a job. You shouldn't have to accept unreasonable requests. Especially with no solid guarantees about how the information is being used. The less the government knows about you, the better.