Your password or your paycheck? A job applicant's murky right to social media privacy

Applying for a job has always involved a certain degree of self-disclosure. Applicants customarily submit resumes containing prior job histories and sometimes hobbies and personal interests. Recently, there have been several reports of employers in the US requesting job candidates for access to their Facebook accounts before making a hiring decision. Denial of this request can be tantamount to an application withdrawal, forcing candidates to decide between their privacy and their prospective employment. The practice, while not yet commonplace, has recently gained the attention of US lawmakers. In their letter to the Attorney General, US Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut pointedly asked whether employers who request or otherwise obtain access to applicants' social media profiles violate the Stored Communications Act or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; but the practice could very well implicate more than these two federal statutes.