Montana City Requires Workers' Internet Accounts

justinlindh writes "Bozeman, Montana is now requiring all applicants for city jobs to furnish Internet account information for 'background checking.' A portion of the application reads, "Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.' The article goes on to mention, 'There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords.'"

Comments

Real Opportunity

[stoolpigeon]

1. Create Account with social site
2. Put name and password on app
3. Wait for it to be leaked and abused
4. Profit!

No need to get a job - this is like money in the bank.

Re:City jobs are a bad thing?

[Attila Dimedici]

Where I live the fire department is a private volunteer organization. Everything I have ever seen indicates that it is a more efficient organization than any government fire department.
The police force does not protect you or your property, they apprehend and hold for trial those who stole/damaged your property. That doesn't do you any good. The damage is already done.

Re:City jobs are a bad thing?

[spun]

Do you have any data to back up your fire department efficiency anecdote?

The police force protects your property by their existence. Potential criminals know there will likely be consequences, and this deters crime.

Re:City jobs are a bad thing?

[spun]

In every historical case, lack of collective action has lead to oppression of the working class by the owning class. What choices does a poor, non-owning class person actually have in a purely free market system? There are significant barriers to keep the poor from acquiring enough resources to become independent from the major resource holders. And as I mentioned, the labor market systematically undervalues labor. When all resources are owned, a non-owner has no way of being productive without an owner's consent. The owning class then owns the labor of that person. Slavery is the end result of anarcho-capitalism.