Facebook Password Issue - Asking The Right Question?

There is a lot of talk about asking for Facebook passwords, but there is a bigger question to be asked of the employer.

 
There have been a lot of stories lately about employers or potential employers asking for a persons Facebook password so they can log on to that persons account. This has been tied to getting hired or even keeping your job so that the company can essentially "break in" to Facebook and see what you written and what you are doing. We have had Facebook weighing in on the situation along with the US Congress looking at possible legislation to stop this activity which is going on. And it is continuing. Here is the question that I believe should be asked when you are asked for your Facebook password.

What is the company policy on sharing passwords?

There are very few companies that do not have a password sharing policy. And in a lot of cases, it is grounds for termination, if not outright termination. So why is a company asking an employee or a potential employee to violate a company policy regarding passwords. They can sugar coat the request all they want, but the reality is they are trying to get you to violate a company policy. Do they really understand what they are doing to undermine the company policies they have worked long and hard to create for the purpose of protecting the company?

If a manager comes to you a month later after you have given them your Facebook password and wants your password to log on to a system, are you going to give it to them. With this action by companies, there is an increased possibility people will turn over the password because the company has shown the company policy isn't really all that critical to the company. It is critical that companies understand the impact of placing continued employment or possible employment on violating a company policy. As a condition of employment, requiring me to give up a password reduces the value of using passwords in a company.

The security of any and all passwords should be held in the highest regard.

There are lots of reports of these kinds of things going on. In some cases, people refuse to give up their Facebook password such as Kimberly Hester a teachers aid in Cassopolis, Michigan who refused. As a result, she was fired from her job. Yet, if she had given up a password to a school system, she probably would be fired as well. This particular one is being talked about, but there are far too many beyond this one being reported and is becoming a very dangerous trend.

All of this is probably going to continue in other methods. Such as asking the person to friend the company so the company can then look around. Others may ask the employee or potential employee to log on to their account and then give the keyboard to the employer or their representative. In this later situation, what is the company policy about logging on to your computer and then giving the keyboard to someone else to go through and look at your computer? If the company would object to that activity in their own systems, then why is it they are asking you to let the company do something they would object to you doing as an employee? That is the real issue.

Why are companies asking employees or potential employees to do something that I can presume is against company policy?