Legislation that would have banned employers from asking for social network passwords from prospective employees was defeated by House Republicans yesterday by a vote of 236-185.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) attached the measure to a larger FCC bill after reports last week that employers are increasingly demanding access to applicants' Facebook and Twitter accounts as a condition of employment.

Although the measure failed, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are planning to introduce an equivalent bill in the Senate, and have called for the Department of Justice to investigate reports of Facebook privacy violations by employers.

Collecting employees' passwords is already prohibited Facebook's terms of service, as the company made clear in a statement earlier this week.

[mashable]

Facebook has responded to recent reports that employers are increasingly asking job applicants for their Facebook passwords by pointing out that the practice violates the company's privacy policy and threatening to take legal action "where appropriate."

In a statement on Facebook's official blog, chief privacy officer Erin Egan wrote, "As a user, you shouldn't be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job."

She also pointed out that employers are opening themselves up to discrimination lawsuits if, for example, they access a potential employee's Facebook account and discover that the candidate is a member of a legally protected class.

But Facebook users aren't the only ones who could potentially sue employers. Egan said that Facebook would also consider lawsuits if necessary.

"We'll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges," she wrote.

Some of those policymakers are already taking steps to address the issue. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently announced that he's drafting legislation that would ban employers from asking for social networking and email passwords.

[ars]