Slashdot Mirror
Senators Slam Firm For Online Background Check
GovTechGuy writes "Social Intelligence Corp's online employment screening service, which preserves users' social media profiles and other data for use by potential employers, infringes on consumers' privacy and could be a violation of the law according to Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Al Franken (D-MN). The Senators wrote to Social Intelligence Corp on Monday demanding answers to a host of questions about the service and how it collects data."
Or, really not. That's why I have a Facebook account with a believable, but fake name. Good luck to all companies trying to find my social network presence. You get LinkedIn, and that's it. To any company that requires my social network information to hire me: No, you don't. And I'd rather not work for you, if you think you do.
I'm really wondering where this is headed. Dual SN-profiles for the tech-savvy, single profiles for the rest? Mandatory ID check and real name requirements before signing up for a social network? I guess Google is halfway there, but quite frankly, if they ban my profile for not being a real name, I have little use for their social network.
It looks like some of the more distopian Internet futures might be around the corner: especially those with a dark net, where a lot of communication is encrypted, private and only between vetted members of a group.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
I am all for privacy but everything posted on Facebook that is public is, by definition, public information. If a person wants to keep something private do not post it on Facebook!
What is next, banning Googling the name of a candidate/employee?
"Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
Aldous Huxley
Just asking, because it seems that ... oh wait, someone's at the doo#(*(*@&@&NO_CARRIER
Bingo. A couple weeks ago some script kiddie sort-of-but-not-really hacked a poorly-secured website that we run. Someone in our company was tasked with tracking down who the guy was. The script kiddie made it easy--he posted about it on facebook, under an assumed name. And without so much as a whiff of law-enforcement help, the guy in our company figured out not only who he really is, but his address, his employer, his parents' address, the church he goes to, the name and contact information of the person who hired him, etc, etc, etc.
If you don't want something to become public, don't post it online. Personal responsibility FTW!
Wasn't there a guy who said "never put in writing what can be spoken, and never speak what can be communicated with a gesture"?
There are those people, yes. And unfortunately, those people tend to talk about other people, and the things they say about other people ALSO show up.
FanFictionRecs.net
Those pics from the party? Text them to your friends, don't post them online.
No matter. Your friends, who have no conception of any need for privacy and would look at you blankly if you even brought up the matter, took their own photos at the party. And you were in them. And they will post them for all the world to see, without it ever crossing their mind that that could possibly be a bad thing.
"A certain ... agitator. For privacy's sake, let's call her 'Lisa S.' No, that's too obvious, let's say, 'L. Simpson.'"
Well, Al Franken is a comedian...
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Facebook posts are copyrighted by the poster, the same as any newspaper article or photograph is, and if they use those copyrighted works in their reports, they are infringing - and good luck trying to make a fair use exemption fly if sued over it.
If corporations can get indefinite copyright protection for everything under the sun, why can't individuals get the same protections?
A user should be able to copyright their social profile postings, browsing history, purchasing habits, etc., and sue any corporation that uses it without authorization. Just because something is on the Internet does not mean that the rights holder gives up their copyright.
If a company like Sony music puts a song on the Internet for others to download, perhaps as a promotion, then a movie studio would not automatically have permission to use that song in a commercial film without written permission. So why can't I sue these online check firms for using my personal data without my written authorization?
...but Michele Bachmann is the one making everyone laugh (then cry).
In the end, a company like this can only get a hold of web accessible information - i.e., information you (or someone else) puts out there.
But there are dozens of major companies out there that compile profiles on individuals based on public records, credit scores, social networking, police records, and private marketing data - you've got much more to "worry" about (if you're prone to such worrying) from them than you are from someone who's just looking at what you post publicly on Facebook.
Anyone can get an account with Lexis Nexis, among others, who compile data like this into handy little reports. The vast majority of it is public record, but anyone paranoid about something like Facebook would be scared shitless about all the information available in one place from companies like this.