Are there laws that prohibit employers from requesting access to employees’ profiles on social media?

In Kansas, employers are prohibited from requesting access to social media profiles in certain situations. The Kansas Legislature amended the Kansas Data Security and Breach Notification Act to include an anti-social media access restriction. The law prohibits employers from requiring, requesting, or coercing employees to access their social media profiles, such as Facebook or Twitter, or to provide a username and password in order to access such profiles. The law also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee for failing to disclose their social media profile’s username or password to the employer. Adverse actions are defined as actions that could “dissuade an employee from exercising his or her rights under the act.” In addition, the law also prohibits employers from requiring access to an employee’s private messages or content from a social media site. Employers may still request access to publicly available information on the social media sites. In order to ensure that employers comply with the law, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office has issued guidelines and materials to help employers understand and follow the anti-social media access restriction. The materials detail the prohibited practices and offer advice and resources to help employers provide a safe and secure workplace that respects employee privacy.

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Are there laws that prohibit employers from requesting access to employees’ profiles on social media?

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