Can employers and institutions access to your social network accounts and can it be used for applicant evaluation.

 

NO WAY!!!

An employer hires an applicant based on his skill or knowledge on the job he/she was applying for. It is not within the context of an employer-employee relationship that a would-be-employee must first comply with the demand that he/she must first waived her privacy with regard to his Social Network Account as a pre-condition for the employment to the company.

In the U.S, where majority of our laws are patterned, a bill, House Bill 308, was recently [May 16, 2012, to be exact] passed by Rep. Darryl Scott of Dover prevents employers in requiring employees or job applicants to surrender their login and password to social media websites and  also, it prevents employers from accessing an employee’s or applicant’s site indirectly through another person connected to the person.

As MSNBC quotes Facebook spokesperson Frederic Wolens saying that these type of requirements are a clear violation of the site’s terms of service: “Under our terms, only the holder of the email address and password is considered the Facebook account owner. We also prohibit anyone from soliciting the login information or accessing an account belonging to someone else,” says Wolens

Lastly, if we all live in a totalitarian regime, maybe there would be no issue when employers require employees to submit  their login and password to social media websites to them, but as it is, we still have the Constitution to protect us.

http://www.wgmd.com/?p=57225

http://www.mudgoodjobs.com/can-employers-demand-facebook-passwords/

Opportunities should be available to everyone/anyone, that is, regardless of the status of life of a person.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is in compliance with the requirements in the subject Technology and the Law and not to be use for any purposes other than for classroom purposes only. 

Political philosopher and social psychologist, John Locke, was an outspoken supporter of equal rights within a governed society. He espoused the natural rights of man, namely the right to life, liberty and property, and he articulated that every government’s purpose is to secure these rights for its nationals. 

As it is, before there is a government and a nation, a man live freely where his only guided by the laws of nature and man. In this scenario, opportunities abound, regardless of your stature in life, your sex, or status in life; you are free to compete with everyone.

Today, all opportunities are well within the reach of rich and famous personalities, and of those who has a connection within the government, while a majority of people who are living below the poverty line continues to suffer because of the in-equality brought about by those who long to stay in power.

Then what is social justice?

Accordingly, a general definition of social justice is hard to arrive at and even harder to implement. In essence, social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the courts, but in all aspects of society. This concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunities; everyone, from the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest deserves an even playing field.

From a political stance that is leftist, you must legislate to create a just society, and various programs need to exist in order to collect moneys needed to even the playing field between rich, middle class, poor and those people who are routinely marginalized by society. Equal rights can be defined as equal access to things that make it possible for people in any societal sector to be successful. Therefore, leftist philosophy would support things like anti-discrimination laws and equal opportunity programs, and would favor taxation, especially of those who make a lot of money, to pay for programs that help provide equality for all.

Although, the far left would argue that there are certain basic needs that must be offered to all. These include things like truly equal education and safety in all schools and programs that would help all children have the financial opportunity to attend college. Far left groups, often termed socialist even if they differ from true definitions of socialism, further argue that a just society cannot be had unless everyone has access to food, safe shelter and medical care. The way to achieve this is through taxation and government implementation of programs that will guarantee these things for all people.

[1] http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/75/john-locke-on-equality-toleration-and-the-atheist-exception

[2] http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-social-justice.htm 

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