Kids in Delaware are finally free of Big Brother—on Facebook, at any rate.
The state legislature passed a bill late Saturday that prohibits public and private schools from snooping in on kids’ social life online. Specifically, educators are barred from forcing students to hand over their login information or log into their accounts to provide the school with access.
The legislation, HB 309, is half of a pair of bills moving through the Delaware legislature. Its sister, HB 308, which would ban similar social media monitoring at workplaces, is still being debated by legislators.
Lawmakers got the idea after reading news reports of companies strong-arming prospective employees into handing over the Facebook login information.
Rep. Darryl Scott, a co-sponsor of the workplace legislation, said in a statement:
“There are stories of interviewers turning to their computer and checking out a person’s profile right there during the interview. That is not only an invasion of privacy, but during a time when jobs are scarce and people are looking for work, this is tantamount to an ultimatum – give us your password or you won’t get this job.”
The Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), and the Password Protection Act (PPA), would provide similar protections nationwide. Both bills are pending in the U.S. Congress.
Photo by Tony Fischer Photograph