Employers could face heavy fines for demanding job seekers' Facebook password

Washington, May 1 (ANI): The Unites States Government has proposed the introduction of a new bill that would forbid employers from demanding the social networking login and password details of job seekers.

According to the SNOPA Bill (Social Networking Online Protection Act), any current or prospective employer would face a 10,000-dollar civil penalty if they ask job applicants for access to Facebook accounts.

Eliot Engel, one of the Democratic Congressman, who introduced SNOPA, stressed that that private social networking content and passwords should have the same protection as email account passwords or banking information.

"These coercive practices (of demanding Facebook passwords) are unacceptable, and should be halted," he added.

Schools and universities would also be banned from demanding passwords as part of disciplinary or enrollment processes, The Telegraph reports.

The move follows a series of incidents in which job candidates have been told they have to hand over passwords as part of the interview process.

According to the paper, SNOPA will be welcomed by Facebook itself, which has threatened to sue employers who demand passwords. (ANI)