The first of these is the Social Networking Online Protection Act. The proposed bill would make it illegal for employers to ask applicants for private social networking credentials and passwords. While several state legislations have already passed similar regulations, this represents the first congressional attempt at passing such laws. (Stern n.p.) The second piece of legislation being considered is the Password Protection Act of 2012. This act is the more comprehensive of the two pieces of legislation being considered. While this Password Protection Act will still prevent employers from forcing potential or current employees to provide passwords for personal social networking accounts it extends the protection further to any computer that is not owned by the employer. Without narrowly defining the technology the bill applies to changes can be made to accommodate future developments in technology and methods of communication are developed. (Calabrese
The first of these is the Social Networking Online Protection Act. The proposed bill would make it illegal for employers to ask applicants for private social networking credentials and passwords. While several state legislations have already passed similar regulations, this represents the first congressional attempt at passing such laws. (Stern n.p.) The second piece of legislation being considered is the Password Protection Act of 2012. This act is the more comprehensive of the two pieces of legislation being considered. While this Password Protection Act will still prevent employers from forcing potential or current employees to provide passwords for personal social networking accounts it extends the protection further to any computer that is not owned by the employer. Without narrowly defining the technology the bill applies to changes can be made to accommodate future developments in technology and methods of communication are developed. (Calabrese