I think it’s unlikely (also: prohibited by the German constitution) that Facebook is specifically outlawed. The proposed law probably prohibits searching for private and non-work related information which would include Facebook or a private blog but not a LinkeIn profile.

I don’t have any fundamental objections to that (something like ‘employers should have the right to screen applicants however they want’), I just think it’s stupid and won’t work. It’s unenforceable and useless.

That’s the article TechCrunch links to: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,713240,00... – this is only a small part of a much larger packet of laws aimed at improving employee privacy. The ban on videotaping of employees is at the moment making headlines in Germany and this is actually the first time I heard about this.

lots of other things are banned from being used for screening in many jurisdictions - age, gender, race, nationality, religious and political views and affiliations, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, parenthood, veteran status, medical history, benefit-claimant, expired criminal convictions etc.

Funnily enough you'll find most of the above on Facebook. Of course in practice all such laws are largely unenforceable, and rely on recruiters being law-abiding citizens