Privacy and Employer Access to Employee Social Media Account - Research Paper Example

Privacy and employer access to employee social media account The invasion of the employer into the employee social network should not be encouraged or done. The issue of employer access to personal accounts of the employee has been a controversial issue. The reason for the actions is diverse with the employer viewing the action as a safeguard of the company against liability that may arise from the exposure of critical industry or organization information by the employee (National Conference of State Legislators).

The argument given by the employer is that the process ensures that they know what kind of information the employee’s post or share with the public. However, the access of the employee personal account by the employer is wrong and should not be encouraged because it is violation of personal right and privacy.Consequently, the challenge of using social media on and off the job has led to the challenge facing employees which led to the demand by some employers for the employees to give their passwords or usernames for their personal account (Poerio and Bain).

However, according to Mark Zuckerberg, the approach is not correct because they say it is not the right thing to be done. The intrusion of the employers into the privacy of individuals is a true violation of personal right even though it is threat to the organization. It is similar to a police checking one’s residence without a search warrant. Regardless of the different prepositions held by employers, privacy is a key in issue of personal safety and issues. One case reported is an employee was a friend of the employer.

After a badmouthing by the employee, on one of the social media platform, the employer decided to fire the employee because he read the posts by the employee. Such incidence can become common if employers are allowed to access the personal accounts of the employees. In order to maintain respect between the two in a workplace, respect of privacy must be adhered to strictly. The employer should give guidelines to what constitute violation of the company policy and can lead to termination of contracts.

In addition, the moral issues associated with the use of social media that may affect organization performance must be communicated to the employee (National Conference of State Legislators). The development of guidelines on what the employee is allowed to share in the social media platform will encourage the development of standards of operation in the social media. The sharing of company secrets can be stopped by developing a policy guideline that is based on the set objectives. However, it must not focus on accessing employee accounts because it will be biased and a violation of rights.

But a policy detailing what the employee can share about the company can solve the issue. With a binding contract on issue of social media use, the company can solve the conflict. The company should be able to access posts by the employee through linking and not password access.Good policy can reduce the tendency of employees to share with the society information about the company. So, the question is not on accessing the employee’s information, but the protection of the rights of the people as well as the company’s data.

In protecting company’s data, it is vital that the company engage competent and people with integrity, thus; reducing the fear of information leaks within the social media platforms (Forbes). The access of the accounts of employees is not a good approach in data protection, but a channel of chaos and disrespect between employees and employer.Works CitedForbes, Jen. "Facebook Controversy: Should Potential Employers Be Allowed to Ask for Your Login Information? - See more at: http://www.qualitylogoproducts.

com/blog/facebook-controversy-potential-employers-login-info/#sthash.o20oO8pB.dpuf." 8 March 2014. Branding Beats Cutting through the Noise. Online. 10 March 2014. .National Conference of State Legislators. "EMPLOYER ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS." 2014. NSCL. Online. 10 March 2014. .Poerio, John Mark and Laura E. Bain. "Social Media in the Workplace: Employer Protections versus Employee Privacy." international_law_news 41.4 (2012). Online.