I am curious, however, what will happen to people who really don't have a facebook. I've never had an account, would they believe me or assume I deleted it?
Two hours later, here is what I sincerely suggest you say:
The people I interact with have an expectation of privacy around the things
they share on FB with me, or even the fact that we know each other.
When I come to work here, you will have certain expectations about my discretion
and ability to respect the company’s need for privacy and my co-worker’s needs
for privacy by not sharing things I see, hear, or are privy to with a third party,
even—or especially—if I am offered a financial inducement such as an attractive
offer of employment with a company I respect.
I therefore ask you to recognize that I am giving my friends and family the exact
same expectation of privacy that you can reply on from me once I join your firm.
JM2C, of course, I am not qualified to give career advice.
At that point I delete my Facebook account and never look back.
As soon as you apply for a job that is high level or sensitive enough, that information will be part of the dossier they review. Depending what is in your FB, or any other comment history you may have, it MIGHT be wise to keep that FB. Lest they think you were trying to hide something.
I need a FB account for work. When FB inevitably becomes so invasive that people begin to panic and delete their profiles, I can safely delete (deactivate) mine. FB may keep all of my data, hopefully I won't have given them anything that isn't worthless.
I think the only safe policy is to refrain entirely from adding any information to the system; you may never get it back. Even seemingly innocuous status updates and public conversations could look suspicious/unprofessional/embarrassing later on.
If you don't mind me asking, why do you need an FB account for work, especially when it sounds like you don't even use it?
Its a real pain in the ass, mixes personal and work way too much. I had a Facebook account already, and i still do, so i didn't mind too much....but i dislike the left overs its causes (installed apps, pages in my name, app keys in my name etc...although this was just due to poor management of these assets)
If you apply for a job that is sensitive enough, they are already going to completely rifle through your personal life.
A step further, and this is where I think I am, is the "delete" option, where you, small 'd', "delete" Facebook, but your information is still there in case you want to come back. It's not accessible to your buddy Joe Blow, but it's there.
Finally, and I might be wrong here, but there is a big 'D' "Delete" option, where facebook deletes your info "permanently" or as "permanently" as they'd like you to believe.
I don't plan on going back to facebook soon, but I'm with you in worrying at times that a sensitive employer would look at a "deleted" or "Deleted" facebook and think "What is this guy trying to hide?"
Also, deleting these accounts does not assure complete invisibility on the net. If you've used your account to comment on a public facebook account or page, there is no assurance that deleting your account would delete that post too.
What's interesting is that the purpose of the background check process seems to be threefold (as I gleaned from talking to an FBI Special Agent who interviewed me about a friend):
1. Identify possible ways in which the investigated person might be manipulated. Having an affair? Had an affair a few years ago which the current spouse doesn't know about? Gambling problem? Drug issues? If so, you might be susceptible to blackmail or bribery.
2. Identify propensities for dishonesty or lack of trustworthiness. Did you cheat on tests? Do you follow-thru on promises? I was asked a lot of questions about how much I trusted this friend.
3. Identify possible 3rd party allegiances. Are you someone identified by the mafia at age 15 as a person who will go to college, look sparkling clean, and then infiltrate the FBI? To make sure, the FBI interviews people from many phases of one's life. It would be really hard to have seemingly normal friends while you were secretly off training with some foreign terrorist organization. I suspect I was also background checked, but I never signed-off on it. The FBI seems to be using the social graph transitively to verify that you aren't hiding anything. No proof of this last statement though.
I've been told that, at least for normal governmental security clearances, the goal is not to determine if you are a good or bad person -- it's to determine if you are hiding something. If your wife knows about the affair you had five years ago, it will be hard to use that knowledge to blackmail you. However, if it remained a secret, you might do something not so good for the USA to save your marriage.
I was asked about the additional names (expressed only as initials due to space constraints) on my friend's condo deed. She had purchased the condo while in law school, and her parents co-signed on the loan. Only after the interview did I realize that the FBI was confirming she did not have a sugar daddy!
Your employer may not have the power to access those "deleted" records, but there are parties out their that do have access, i.e. Governments and such
Diligently create a facebook "version" of yourself which appears to be a great worker/student/whatevertheywant?
I mean you can fight the system, but sabotaging it is so much more fun.
"Put it all together and I think we all now see the fundamental utility of LinkedIn — it’s the one place where you can demonstrate how honest, decent and accomplished you are, even if you have to lie and cheat to do it." http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/humor/work-daze/li...
At that point, I would start my own company, we wouldn't check Facebook accounts (and would let people know this) and we would have a line out the door of job applicants who want their privacy respected.
It seems to me that this is clearly the sort of thing that should be illegal because there is a huge imbalance in terms of bargaining power in these situations.
Even if we take this argument to a logical conclusion where every employer will eventually feel compelled to do this, this would destroy the value proposition of Facebook entirely. It would effectively turn Facebook into LinkedIn. If it can't be used for fun, people won't use it, which is entirely against Facebook's interests (which means they'll adjust the privacy policy and sue offending employers).
The idea that this is a serious phenomenon gets clicks, but it has no legs to stand on.
Legislation Facebook should back if they have an ounce of brains.
Consider that as popular as Facebook is, it is still mostly popular for younger people, who vote less than older people.
Consider how easy it is to convince the government to end almost any right or freedom if you mention security/terrorism.
Consider that while this might become an election issue, it almost certainly won't be the election issue. The economy, abortion, and all the other old standbys, will be the votes that really matter to an elected politician, not a vote, or lack of a vote, either way on facebook.
Consider that once this violation of privacy becomes status quo, it becomes 100x harder to roll it back.
I expect a lot of things, but I would not be surprised if this forced access to friend only level of information on facebook becomes the norm.
Drugs are about as easy to quit as Facebook for some people...
On a more serious note, it seems to be that drug testing is only required where physical safety is compromised by drugs, like drivers, warehouse workers, etc. Similar to how people who have direct responsibility of money may have to undergo credit checks. Properly managed, these seems like acceptable precautions to me.
I've never been asked to take one, nor would I submit to one for a software development job, despite being drug-free.
I am having trouble coming up with a legitimate need that an employer would have for a facebook account password, short of someone who has a high level security clearance where phone taps and surveillance are also to be expected.
Introducing facebook background searches! For a low fee of $2499, fb will comb through your prospective employee's postings and alert you of any trouble spots!
If every employer demanded this I would have the easiest choice in the world. Start my own company and not ask to read my employees personal communications.
Pretty sure a few well placed class action lawsuits would cure this practice.
/sarcasm