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November 19 2013

Singapore Employers Demand Access To Employees Social Media Accounts

An increasing number of employers have begun demanding private login information to applicants' social media accounts. In the U.S., such practices may be a breach of privacy, however; there is no law in Singapore that guarantees employee privacy. Although this may change in the future, employers now are legally free to monitor their employees through any means - including tracking Internet history, e-mails, chat sessions and file downloads.

Some companies even use GPS tracking on company devices to check on employee location. As a result of this lack of legislation, nothing is sacred when it comes to employee privacy - not even employees' social network accounts. Employers may not need to worry about legal ramifications, but employee privacy is still a minefield that should be approached with caution. With the boundary between an employee's personal and professional line is getting increasingly unclear, it is important that HR professionals do draw a line and stick to it. The best way to do this is to institute a social media policy and provide training and resources for employees to turn to.