City asks applicants for Internet passwords

[Ron]

Bozeman wants applicants to hand over passwords for Internet groups



HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Job applicants with the city of Bozeman are finding that their private Internet discussions and pictures may not be so private after all.

The city is asking job seekers for the user names and passwords to Internet social networking or Web groups to which they belong. The decision is sparking an outcry from those who say the policy goes way too far.

The issue has spawned hundreds of comments on Web forums and sharp criticism from legislators and the ACLU.

"I liken it to them saying they want to look at your love letters and your family photos," said Amy Cannata, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana. "I think this policy certainly crosses the privacy line."

The city argues that it only uses the information to verify application information -- and says it won't hold it against anyone for refusing to provide it. City officials say such checks can be useful, especially when hiring police officers and others in a position of public trust....

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/City-asks-applicants-for-apf-3157638444.html/print?x=0

[Jocassee]

Never assign to malice what can be explained by stupidity. And this, boys and girls, is a case of Epic Stupid.

Seriously though, this HAS to have been born out of ignorance of how the Internet and social networking work. Has to be.

[stevelyn]

City officials say such checks can be useful, especially when hiring police officers and others in a position of public trust....

I agree with this. We already have to agree to open up our personal and financial histories to be vetted and screened as part of the hiring process. There shouldn't be anything available on the internet you wouldn't want people to know about.

[RevDisk]

I agree with this. We already have to agree to open up our personal and financial histories to be vetted and screened as part of the hiring process. There shouldn't be anything available on the internet you wouldn't want people to know about.

First, it's bad security to hand over your passwords to anyone without a court order.   What's to say the city doesn't accidently post them to the web, as countless govt entities have done with personal information and social security numbers?  Or that someone working for the city won't abuse these passwords by posting under an applicant's account?

Anyone can READ public information on the internet.  Handing over read/write abilities to any govt entity on a voluntary basis is stupidity that is second only to Darwin Awards.

IF they wanted to, they could ask for the location of any interaction on the internet and your particular username.  I find such requests distasteful and wouldn't personally do so, but to each their own.  Mind you, I don't have overly high standards,  I went through a TS (SSBI, not SCI or lifestyle poly) clearance background check.  I'd never voluntary give any govt entity the ability to read my mail, electronic or paper.  Any information I post publically is sterilized to my comfort level for anyone to read.  What anyone else chooses to put in the public light is their business.

[Standing Wolf]

The only thing government consistently does well is look after the interests of government. I think that town's mayor needs to face a recall petition drive.

[Cobalt60]

Internet passwords? What internet passwords?

[MechAg94]

Is this just a security screening question?  If you give your passwords and such, then you are automatically dropped off the list.  :)

[lupinus]

"Passwords?  Oh, I don't have any.  I just play pop pop and google things on occasion."

[El Tejon]

I'm so sick of this crap.  I'm moving to somewhere where they respect privacy and tell the government to go to hell.  I'm moving to Montana because something like this would never happen in Montana.

[Harold Tuttle]

not that a clever man might have a clean persona or two to mask his tastes for fava beans and a nice chianti

[ilbob]

I am betting what they really want is the names of sites you post at and the name you use there, and just are not savvy enough to know how to ask that.

That would be akin to asking for aliases and nom de plumes, which is fairly common ("Are you known by any other name?" is the way it is often phrased).

[RevDisk]

I'm so sick of this crap.  I'm moving to somewhere where they respect privacy and tell the government to go to hell.  I'm moving to Montana because something like this would never happen in Montana.

Human stupidity is fairly universal, El T.   Plus, all governments are always inventing new and creative means of annoying their citizens.

[Brad Johnson]

I am betting what they really want is the names of sites you post at and the name you use there, and just are not savvy enough to know how to ask that.

My presumption as well, indicating that the person(s) settup up application formats have A) absolutely no grasp of web-based communications formats, and B) probably wouldn't know what to do with a password if they actually got one.

Brad

[Lee]

Buffalo sh*t. 

[Uncle Bubba]

Buffalo sh*t. 

Well and succinctly put.

[Nick1911]

As usual, I fully and completely agree with RevDisk on this matter.

If it's on the publicly viewable internet, go look it up for your self.

If they want your password to view material published in a non-publicly viewable section of the net, then they need a search warrant before they're getting anything.

[MicroBalrog]

I'm so sick of this crap.  I'm moving to somewhere where they respect privacy and tell the government to go to hell.  I'm moving to Montana because something like this would never happen in Montana.

But Tejon, there's nothing actually wrong with what they did. They're trying to know more about their potential employees.
Take off the tinfoil and get out of the basement, already!

Basement police >>> 

[Hawkmoon]

That would be akin to asking for aliases and nom de plumes, which is fairly common ("Are you known by any other name?" is the way it is often phrased).

With all due respect, I believe the plural form of nom de plume is nommes de plume. It's the "names" part that's being pluralized, not the "pen" part.

[Hawkmoon]

The city is asking job seekers for the user names and passwords to Internet social networking or Web groups to which they belong. The decision is sparking an outcry from those who say the policy goes way too far.

"Sure, no problem. I'll just enter all that on the job application. May I have your city hall network user name and password, Ms. H.R. Director, so I can access the application form on-line?"

[BryanP]

Apparently the good folk of Bozeman have decided to stop being bozos.  They

The city of Bozeman, Mont., has rescinded its long-standing policy that job applicants provide user names and passwords to social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

[seeker_two]

Sure, I'll give you my passwords.....the first one starts with "F".....wanna guess what the second one starts with?.....

[stevelyn]

First, it's bad security to hand over your passwords to anyone without a court order.   What's to say the city doesn't accidently post them to the web, as countless govt entities have done with personal information and social security numbers?  Or that someone working for the city won't abuse these passwords by posting under an applicant's account?

Anyone can READ public information on the internet.  Handing over read/write abilities to any govt entity on a voluntary basis is stupidity that is second only to Darwin Awards.

IF they wanted to, they could ask for the location of any interaction on the internet and your particular username.  I find such requests distasteful and wouldn't personally do so, but to each their own.  Mind you, I don't have overly high standards,  I went through a TS (SSBI, not SCI or lifestyle poly) clearance background check.  I'd never voluntary give any govt entity the ability to read my mail, electronic or paper.  Any information I post publically is sterilized to my comfort level for anyone to read.  What anyone else chooses to put in the public light is their business.

I was only speaking specifically about hiring cops, not any other employee. Better to find out in the screening process that they have kittie porn on their computers rather than months/years after they're hired and become an embarrassment to the agency and govt body.

[Balog]

I was only speaking specifically about hiring cops, not any other employee. Better to find out in the screening process that they have kittie porn on their computers rather than months/years after they're hired and become an embarrassment to the agency and govt body.

Being a furry is disqualifying for being a cop? 

[Strings]

Being a furry is a disqualifier for being just about anything...

[seeker_two]

Being a furry is disqualifying for being a cop? 

Of course....you try wearing fur underneath kevlar body armor....