Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today took to Twitter, Facebook, Google+,
LinkedIn and MySpace to announce that he has signed two bills that
increase privacy protections for social media users in California.
Assembly Bill 1844 (Campos) and Senate Bill 1349 (Yee) prohibit
universities and employers from requiring that applicants give up their
email or social media account passwords.
“The Golden State is pioneering the social media revolution and these
laws will protect all Californians from unwarranted invasions of their
personal social media accounts,” said Governor Brown.
Assembly Bill 1844 by Nora Campos (D-San Jose) prohibits employers from
demanding user names, passwords or any other information related to
social media accounts from employees and job applicants. Employers are
banned from discharging or disciplining employees who refuse to divulge
such information under the terms of the bill. However, this restriction
does not apply to passwords or other information used to access
employer-issued electronic devices. The bill further stipulates that
nothing in its language is intended to infringe on employers’ existing
rights and obligations to investigate workplace misconduct.
Senate Bill 1349 by Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) establishes a similar
privacy policy for postsecondary education students with respect to
their use of social media. While the bill prohibits public and private
institutions from requiring students, prospective students and student
groups to disclose user names, passwords or other information about
their use of social media, it stipulates that this prohibition does not
affect the institution’s right to investigate or punish student
misconduct.
Proponents of Assembly Bill 1844 say this is a common-sense measure that
will bring clarity to a murky area of employment law and stop business
practices that impede employment. Senate Bill 1349, which passed without
opposition in the Legislature, is designed to stop a growing trend of
colleges and universities snooping into student social media accounts,
particularly those of student athletes.
