The Oakland Post

New Michigan law keeps online passwords private from employers

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A law was passed Friday Dec. 28 preventing both employers and schools from asking for social media or email passwords.

According to a press release on Michigan.gov, the law also punishes “educational institutions for dismissing or failing to admit a student who does not provide such details.”

“Potential employees and students should be judged on their skills and abilities, not private online activity,” Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said in the press release.

The issue of online social network privacy was first brought to the public eye in 2010, when a Maryland man was asked for his Facebook username and password to check for “gang affiliations,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.