Want a city job? Fork over your usernames, passwords

Readers with neck problems are advised to skip this post because it is sure to have your head shaking.

Officials who run the city of Bozeman, Montana -- perhaps setting a new standard for privacy invasion in the name of public safety -- are insisting that job applicants cough up their usernames and passwords for any social networking sites or online forums in which they participate. Reason: background checks.

From a report on Montana's News Station:

"The requirement is included on a waiver statement applicants must sign, giving the City permission to conduct an investigation into the person's 'background, references, character, past employment, education, credit history, criminal or police records.'

"'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 City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords."

Beyond the pale, you say? Not according to Bozeman city attorney Greg Sullivan, who defended the policy after assuring the television station that "the city takes privacy rights very seriously." (Understanding them is another matter.)

"'So, we have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the City,' Sullivan said."

The good citizens of Montana apparently do not share Sullivan's point of view. An online poll taken by the television station showed 98% of respondents -- 98%! -- believe the policy to be an invasion of privacy, although there is no indication of how many people expressed a view and we all know that online polls are pretty much useless. Nevertheless, you don't see 98% on one of them every day.

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