How Else Will Your Privacy Be Taken?

In the article Looking for a Job?  Beware of this Privacy Risk, you learned how looking for work could lead to a breach in your privacy.  This is a risk for only those who are currently looking for a job.  There is another privacy risk that should be a concern to everyone, regardless of age or state of employment.  Employers and schools are demanding to know your social media information.

Many companies do not want their names mentioned in social media unless they have control over what is being said.  The only way these companies have to keep control over this is by checking each employee’s social media accounts to make sure nothing derogatory is being said about the company.  Because anyone can set privacy controls, the only way to know everything that an employee says on social media is to have full access to the accounts.  That is why employers are asking for the log-in names and passwords of all employees. 

 

Employers are not only looking for what is said about the company, or if the employee has the company name listed as their place of employment, they are also looking for anything inappropriate that may be posted.  Pictures of wild parties or visits to a nude beach may just get you fired.  True, these parties and beach pictures were taken on your leisure time, but now, unless you have a contract, you are considered an “at will” employee.  This means that your employer can terminate your employment for any reason.  Even if you have a contract, most of them have a morals clause, so any inappropriate postings could void the contract.

But, in the beginning, I did say that this is a privacy risk for all ages.  That is because not only employers, but schools are also demanding social media log-in information.  Because of the amount of under-age drinking parties and cyber-bullying, schools, from elementary to university, want to see what their students are up to.   By knowing the log-in information of all students, the schools will know where the problems lie; who is the bully, who is being bullied, who is getting drunk or high on a regular basis? 

 

Companies and colleges and universities aren’t stopping at asking for social medial log-in information from current employees or students; they also want this information from prospective employees and students.  If someone passed the credit check for employment and was interviewed by Human Resources, before any decision will be made, they will want to check your social media.  They want to make sure that you are a serious-minded candidate who won’t let partying get in the way of your job.  The same holds true for colleges and universities.  Even if you had high SAT scores and your GPA is above average, the University you are applying to wants to know what you do on your leisure time.  If you party while living at home with your parents, will it get worse once you have some freedom living away from home?

At this time, it’s not every company or school that is asking you to give up your privacy through social media, but the trend is catching on.  How soon will it be before companies and schools will be asking for the social media information of spouses, friends or parents?  How can we stop this from happening?  You can refuse to give this information, but then you can also lose your job or an opportunity to get into a good college.  You can also lie and say that you don’t have social media, but people talk and word will get out.  Even if you make a “dummy” account just for these inquiries, you could lose a lot if you are caught.

Right now, there really isn’t anything that can be done about this.  But you can keep your privacy safe whenever you use the Internet.  With Privacy Partners’ proxy servers, you can surf the Net anonymously by changing your IP Address.  There is also the added benefit of knowing that every time you log on using Privacy Partners’ proxy servers, all of your information is encrypted.  Please sign up for the FREE trial today so you can feel safe on-line.