John F. Buckley IV
The proposed federal Password Protection Act of 2015 (H.R. 2277), introduced on May 12, 2015, would bar employers from requiring or requesting employees or job applicants to provide password information for their social media and email accounts as a condition of employment. The Act was introduced in order to curb this growing practice, and it was drafted in consultation with major technology companies and legal experts, its proponents stated. A similar measure (H.R. 2077/S. 1426) was introduced but failed in the 113th Congress, which concluded on December 31, 2014.
A similar bill, the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA) (H.R. 5107), has been introduced this year. SNOPA would prohibit employers from requiring or requesting a username, password, or other access to online content, and it would extend this prohibition to colleges, universities, and K-12 schools. In addition, the bill would prohibit employers from demanding such access in order to discipline, discriminate, or deny employment to individuals, and from punishing individuals for refusing to volunteer such information. This measure was originally introduced in the 113th Congress as H.R. 537, but, like the proposed Password Protection Act, it died in committee.
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