It is now illegal in the State of Washington for an employer to ask for an employee's social media account passwords.
Nor can Washington employers demand employess befriend of follow them on social platforms in order to gain access to employees' timelines or activities. Employers can't even stand over the shoulder of employees and ask them to pull up social accounts to see what's there.
The Washington law, which was passed unanimously in that state's legislature, took effect July 28 and is one of a number of similar laws before several state legislatures around the country, not all meeting with the success of Washington's law.
Arkansas passed a similar law, so did Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont and Oregon. A separate law in Oregon prohbits universities from demanding access to students' social media accounts.
A California measure still working its way through the legislature would prohibit the bosses of public employees from demanding access to those public employees' social accounts.
Laws are currently also working their way through the legislatures of Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Similar measures failed in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
You can download and read a white paper on Privacy & Social Media, prepared by Sterling Education Services.
