Blog II

An employer cannot dismiss, demote, refuse rightful promotion to, or in any other way negatively affect the institutional standing of an employee if that employee refuses to disclose the account credentials or information of any online account, including accounts belonging to that employee and accounts belonging to other employees. An employer cannot in any way utilize acquired account credentials or information, including usernames and passwords, except if they receive written consent of each employee whose account has been given. An employer cannot discriminate during the hiring and promotion processes based on whether or not an employee has disclosed account credentials or information, including usernames and passwords.

This law would protect employees in several ways. Firstly, if they are not already in a job, but instead attempting to be hired into a workplace, then their social media activity, or the activity of any other online account, cannot be used to eliminate them as a potential future employee. This prevents extremism in the workplace in many metrics, most prominently politics. It also preserves the right of free speech as seen on the internet, for there is no fear of counteraction. Second, if an employee is already in a workplace, that employee cannot be prevented from rising in the company and cannot be demoted, fired, or stripped of job duties or weekly hours based on what is found on their personal social media account. This achieves the same effects mentioned previously. Thirdly, an employer, if given account credentials and information,  cannot use them without the permission of the employee who owns it. This prevents usage of account information given before the law was passed and account information acquired through unnoticed coercion or some other subtle means. It also makes it clear to the employee when they are being monitored, enhancing their protection against unlawful misuse of such information.