No Password Protection: Democrats Lose Second Bid To Shield Social Media Passwords From Employers

Rep. Mike Rogers accused Democrats of playing games with a cybersecurity bill.

WASHINGTON -- Republicans blocked a second bid in the House to pass an amendment barring employers from demanding Facebook and other social media passwords from workers.

A similar effort failed last month, with Republicans arguing that it would not help and complaining that it was a stunt.

But that did not stop Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) from trying again. He said that letting employers or the federal government demand the passwords to workers' social media accounts was an unacceptable invasion of privacy.

"If an employer or the federal government poses as somebody by having their Facebook password, then they can impersonate, they can become an impostor," Perlmutter argued. "And it is a two-way exchange of information so that somebody who is completely unrelated to the employer is now communicating with an impostor."

Perlmutter tried to attach the amendment to the larger cybersecurity bill the House was considering. That bill's main sponsor, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), accused his colleague of playing games, as well as endangering a measure that Rogers said was vital.

"We can play games, we can do silly things. This amendment actually does nothing to protect a private password at home," Rogers argued, suggesting hackers around the globe were a much larger threat.

He also suggested that Perlmutter was acting for purely partisan gain, so that Democrats could say the GOP blocked an effort to guard people's privacy.

"I get it, sounds great. You're going to run out and do bad things with it," Rogers said. "But this is our nation's defense. This is the last bastion of things we need to do to protect this country."

A Democratic aide countered that there was no reason at all for the amendment to slow down the bill if the GOP really wanted it to pass. Other bills are being considered in the House and Senate to address the password issue, but none of them have advanced very far.

Another part of Perlmutter's amendment sought to bar the federal government from essentially pulling the plug on the Internet in times of unrest, similar to tactics used by Iran in quelling dissent there.

It failed 233 to 183, with just one Republican voting for it.

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Comments

[eMoney003]

04:42 PM on 05/11/2013

When did people stop standing up for themselves? Say no. I have said no and since I am a hard working employee who does my job, I have never been fired for saying no to something I do not believe is right. Society is getting to be full of a bunch of cry babies who cannot stand up for themselves.

[redhand32]

11:34 AM on 04/20/2013

Teapublicans-The New Math=Less Government for Billionaires and Big Business, More Government for Our Personal Lives

[wfhbear]

12:48 AM on 05/02/2012

What are the REPUBLICANS and BIG BUSINESS afraid of? The answer is anything you know about yourself that they don't. They want no restrictions of what BUSINESS can gather on employees, potential employees, retired employees, or anyone else they can find out about. These intrusively "Holier than Thou" right wing so called Americans just want to insure they have open access to everything we do in our lives.

[Watching rock grow]

01:50 PM on 05/01/2012

Okay then Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich. where democracy is shut out by tyrants assigned by State Government) you come up with a real law that protects personal passwords of social media users!

[Anella Harmeyer]

09:01 PM on 04/30/2012

Good old GOP with their less government in people's lives.

[Sophist FCD]

12:10 AM on 04/28/2012

'"This amendment actually does nothing to protect a private password at home," Rogers argued, suggesting hackers around the globe were a much larger threat. '

So? It's not like this was proposed INSTEAD of your version, it was proposed in ADDITION to it. Adding in a little clause to protect employees from their employers does not detract one iota from the other things you want the bill to cover.

[Callah]

07:51 PM on 04/27/2012

I would delete my Facebook page before I gave my passwords for anything out to anyone. Period. It's not their business...

[Renifer]

12:53 AM on 04/28/2012

I think that in order for it to be fair that an employer demand the private data of an employee, that we employees should have the same right, to look over ALL of the data on every PC that an employer has, and not just social media.
After all, the boss has nothing to hide, since he wants *your* data, right?

[MFS001]

07:20 PM on 04/27/2012

There are two ways to get Republicans to vote for bills:

1) Add the word "Defense" to the legislation, as Eisenhower did with his highway act.

2) Tell them that Democrats are against the legislation.

[Chicagofan1]

07:01 PM on 04/27/2012

That is preparation for the better economy. Employers are regaining power.
They are already betting on Romney.

[Renifer]

12:58 AM on 04/28/2012

The economy that is being prepared for is that of the 1890s.
Employers already have too much power, and that's been the problem for quite some time now.
Romney is not a good bet. I've met him. He intends to profitize everything. We will live in a waking nightmare if he is elected.

[ocrbmom]

09:35 AM on 04/28/2012

F & F

[RalphJoseph]

04:05 PM on 04/27/2012

Once again, the republicans stand up for the common man.

[Twisted Words]

02:49 PM on 04/27/2012

Vote ALL Republicans out. DEMOCRAT 2012.

[groucho42]

01:25 PM on 04/27/2012

"He also suggested that Perlmutter was acting for purely partisan gain, so that Democrats could say the GOP blocked an effort to guard people's privacy." Notice the Republican never even considered that Republicans should be interested in protecting people's privacy from intrusion, so that it must be a "trick" for a Democrat to claim privacy should matter.

[Khaos Spence]

12:41 PM on 04/27/2012

Sooo, the major companies intellectual property..ie a way for these guys to make money, apparently trump the idea that the government or my boss shouldn't have access to my facebook acct or my email or whatever the case is...SHOVE OFF this is beyond irritating..I don't give a rats ass why they decided to draft it, what the bill accomplishes is just as important if not more important than why the people decided to create it. If it didn't do anything and you knew it would make you look bad why not pass it?! Your bill and their bill aren't exclusive from each other...Personally if my boss asked me for my password, I'd ask why then probably put my two weeks in. I'd just tell the government to back off.

[Renifer]

01:00 AM on 04/28/2012

I wouldn't quit, I'd sue. Demanding private data is a breach of 4th and 5th amendment rights to privacy. It is clearly unconstitutional, and that's why Republicans should not be for it.

[C Karen Stopford]

12:38 PM on 04/27/2012

Ever feel like you just fell down a rabbit hole? Read the "Politics" section of HuffPost, if you want to know what it feels like.

[october71777]

12:36 PM on 04/27/2012

I hope all of you realize one very important fact in the future. When our loving government finally drops it's "mask" in the very near future, FB will be shutdown. But believe me, when that happens there is going to be more happening in the US then just the shutdown down of social networks. We've seen it in the Middle East already. And when a "national emergency" is declared in this country, just you watch what our loving government does. But you'll be safer, really. This is just the tip of a massive iceberg that awaits to be seen. 1984 is not to far in the future and whehter it is Republican or Democrat it's on its way.