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By Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan

Social media legislation restricting access to personal social media accounts has been a hot topic in recent months, and as 2013 progresses, more and more states seem poised to pass such legislation.  Here’s a roundup of some of the more recent social media legislation passed in Utah, New Mexico, and Arkansas:

Utah

With the …
Continue Reading Utah, New Mexico, and Arkansas Pass Social Media Legislation Restricting Employer Access to Personal Social Media Accounts

On January 30th, the Washington state senate introduced a bill which would prohibit public and private employers within the state from requiring employees to turn over their online social-network account passwords.  Senate Bill 5211.  As we previously blogged, a number of states have passed or are considering similar legislation, which ostensibly is aimed at protecting employees’ privacy in their

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Continue Reading Hands Off My Tweets: Washington State Senate Proposes Ban on Mandatory Disclosure of Employee Social Networking Passwords

By Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan

The Michigan Legislature recently passed the Internet Privacy Protection Act (“IPPA”), otherwise known as House Bill 5523. On December 28, 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed the IPPA, making Michigan the fourth state to enact a social media privacy law regulating employers. In explaining the reasoning behind the law, Governor Snyder stated, “Cyber security…
Continue Reading Employers Take Note: Michigan Adopts Social Media Privacy Legislation

California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace today that he has signed two bills (Senate Bill 1349 and Assembly Bill 1844) prohibiting public and private postsecondary schools and California employers from requiring applicants and employees to provide their social media account passwords.

“California pioneered the social media revolution. These laws protect Californians from unwarranted invasions…
Continue Reading California Governor Jerry Brown Signs New Social Media Legislation

By Ronald Kramer

On August 1, 2012, Illinois became the second state in the nation to adopt a law prohibiting employers from seeking employee or prospective employee passwords to access their non-public portions of their social networking sites.

The Illinois’ law, an amendment to the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act that will become effective January 1, 2013, makes…
Continue Reading Illinois Becomes Second State In Nation To Bar Employers From Obtaining Access To Employee Social Networking Pages

On Monday March 26, 2012, Senators Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) and Chuck Schumer (New York), called for federal agencies to determine whether requiring prospective hires to hand over social networking usernames and passwords violates federal law. Blumenthal and Schumer called on the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to investigate whether such practices violate federal anti-discrimination laws and the United…

Continue Reading Access To Social Media Accounts In The Hiring Process And Employer Ownership Of Trade Secrets Or Confidential Information Contained In Social Media Accounts: Legislation On Horizon?