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California Creates Bill to Give College Applicants More Online Privacy
By Catherine Groux
Posted October 12, 2012 01:00 PM
A new California bill strives to give students more online privacy.California Governor Jerry Brown recently announced that he has signed a bill designed to give college applicants more online privacy, a press release states. Under the Social Media Privacy Act, college officials are prohibited from requiring prospective or current students to hand over their social media usernames, passwords or other information.
State Senator and author of the bill Leland Yee said asking students for their social media account passwords is an "unacceptable invasion of personal privacy," especially when many individuals now post information like their religion and sexual orientation online, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Yee decided to author the bill after seeing an increase in the number of schools asking students for their social media account information in an attempt to find the best students to represent their institutions. Adam Keigwin, a spokesman for Yee, told the Golden Gate Xpress that while many students are reluctant to submit this personal information, they often do so under the fear that they are putting their academic futures at risk.
The Social Media Era
Brown's announcement comes on the heels of a Kaplan Test Prep survey that shows that more college officials are viewing students' online presence during the admissions process. Today, about 27% of admissions officers said they Google prospective students, while 26% said they check their Facebook pages. In doing so, 35% of school officials said they found online material that could negatively impact students' chances of admission.
While most of these professionals probably do not ask students for private information, such as their account passwords, it sheds a light on the growing importance of social media in the college admissions process.
"With regard to college admissions, the traditional application - the essays, the letters of recommendation - represent the polished version of an applicant, while often what’s found online is a rawer version of that applicant," said Jeff Olson, Kaplan's vice president of data science.
College Officials and Students Speak Out
Supporters of the bill - both in California and across the country - feel it is a commonsense measure designed to protect students' privacy. However, others feel that while the bill has solid intentions, it is largely unnecessary.
"This may be a well-intentioned bill aimed at ensuring another level of privacy for young Californians, but it strikes me as a sledgehammer used to swat flies, in both senses," said Jonathan Burdick, dean of admissions at the University of Rochester and former dean of admissions at the University of Southern California. "It’s more than you need and easy to swing and miss. I don’t know any college admissions office (least of all the popular colleges in California where applicants might feel vulnerable about this) in which the average admissions reader has enough extra time to spend looking at applicants’ social media records."
Although admissions officials like Burdick may find the bill superfluous, some students feel more comfortable knowing they do not need to reveal their private information.
"I'd rather not have other people see my personal information because it's not their business to know all that," Deborah Magalaya, a sophomore at San Francisco State University, told the Xpress.
