News - Germany mulls privacy law preventing employee snooping

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New law could ban companies using private Facebook info for potential employee research.

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Read more.

i think if you want to act like a dick on the internet under your real name then you are fair game for employers checking, after all, employers customers and suppliers wouldn't be stopped from reading it, so why can't the employer see what it's customers and suppliers can read? if you don't want people knowing your details, use a false name or keep your profile private and don't let people you don't know befriend you

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Originally Posted by uni

i think if you want to act like a dick on the internet under your real name then you are fair game for employers checking, after all, employers customers and suppliers wouldn't be stopped from reading it, so why can't the employer see what it's customers and suppliers can read?

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This law is not about people's public profile, it is about what they keep private, or only share with their friends. I think it is perfectly reasonable to prohibit companies from making fake friend requests to their employees, because by doing so they are tying to access information that the employee is trying to keep private, and there should be a separation between a person's private life and their work life. The human rights act guarantees such a right (to a private and family life).

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Originally Posted by uni

if you don't want people knowing your details, use a false name or keep your profile private and don't let people you don't know befriend you

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Fine advice, but have you considered the possibility that an employer may attempt to force someone to accept a friend request a a condition of employment?

double post

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Originally Posted by uni

i think if you want to act like a dick on the internet under your real name then you are fair game for employers checking, after all, employers customers and suppliers wouldn't be stopped from reading it, so why can't the employer see what it's customers and suppliers can read? if you don't want people knowing your details, use a false name or keep your profile private and don't let people you don't know befriend you

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So the answer to dealing with snooping by employers is to pretend to be someone else and lie? Well thats a great way to live your life.... If I where an employer thats what i would want my employees to do do so they could feel safe living their life :censored:.

A persons private life is their private life and as long as it doesn't infringe* on their work then it should have nothing to do with their work. I would also question the value of any information gained from the likes of facebook, as people often put up what they think and that can be very different as to what they will do or have done... for many people these sites an extension of their imagination as much as they of their reality.

* Actually infringe, rather than just some paranoid fear that it might...

accepting friend requests from people you don't know is the users problem. too many people are more concerned about having 17 gazillion "friends" on facebook than keeping their data private. on top of that they don't mind broadcasting to the world what activities they get up to, such as getting stupendously drunk, or sharing personal comments others might find unnaceptable

people simply need to sort themselves out. even if a law is passed in germany, it's not going to stop some people from checking, it's not going to be easy to find out if someone has done it or not

i think it's reasonable for employers to check that potential employees aren't morons online, and doing things like slagging off customers and suppliers or the company they work for, or other things that may bring the company into disrepute. what an employee does in his or her private life can have a bearing on their employment. the saying of "what someone does outside of work..." is BS these days. who would want to employ someone who demonstrates they are an idiot in the online world? it's a reflection of that person and gives an insight to who you are employing and how they may act in the workplace. if you're going to be an idiot online, do it in a way that won't feedback to your employers