Facebook advises users: Don't share passwords

Facebook issued an advisory on Friday to make certain its users do not reveal their passwords to prospective employers. The posting by Erin Egan, chief privacy officer, policy, on the company's own Facebook Privacy page, said that users should not, under any circumstances, reveal their passwords to potential employers wishing to gain access to their private information. The strongly worded warning aims to ensure that the privacy of the user, as well as that of their "friends," is protected. The social media giant goes so far as to make it a violation of its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities for anyone to solicit or share a Facebook password. Soliciting a password is not the right thing to do, Egan wrote, and further, employers are in danger of becoming entangled in legal matters if they do so. "If an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group," the possibility of discrimination could be a consequence should a person not be hired.