Social Media Background Checks: Another Case of Software Industry Bumping into Regulators

Social Intelligence sells a service that allows employers to check applicant social network data as part of a hiring process. The firm was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission earlier in 2011, in part to ensure that the service complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act to ensure that its clients let job applicants know when something that turned up in a background check had an adverse effect on their getting employed, or rather not getting employed.

The FTC has since dropped its investigation into Social Intelligence’s practices, but some U.S. Senators continue to express concern about the company's software. Social Media Background Checks

Most employers already are checking applicant profiles on Facebook, and conducting Google searches. In surveys, most employers admit that they check out applicants’ Facebook pages, blogs, and Google footprint. The issue is whether such information could ultimately be viewed as a violation of the law if the employer gains knowledge of something that can not be the basis for a hiring decision  (like religion or sexuality).

The investigation and continuing concern on the part of lawmakers illustrates the growing extent to which the software industry is bumping up against regulatory bodies that shape the industry's future. Google's risk of antitrust review, AT&T's current antitrust review and Microsoft's decade-long antitrust reviews in the United States and Europe, are examples.

Company investigated