Senators ask feds to probe requests for Facebook passwords

Sens Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews are violating federal law. Troubled by reports of the practice, the senators said they are calling on the Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to launch investigations.

The senators are sending letters to the heads of the agencies. Specifically, the senators want to know if this practice violates the Stored Communications Act or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Those two acts, respectively, prohibit intentional access to electronic information without authorization and intentional access to a computer without authorization to obtain information. The senators also want to know whether two court cases relating to supervisors asking current employees for social media credentials could be applied to job applicants. The senators also said they are drafting a bill to fill in any gaps that current laws don't cover.