Employers can demand access to your Facebook account and they have. But according to the ACLU this is not only an egregious invasion of privacy, but is illegal under the Federal Stored Communications Act.

Take the case of Robert Collins who works for the Maryland Department of Corrections. He took some leave because of his mom’s death, but was ordered to turn over access to his Facebook account in order to return to work. To see his account on video, please go here.

The Facebook company has been accused of playing fast and loose with privacy in the past, but in this case they are considering legal action against any organization who demands Facebook passwords. The practice appears to be growing and includes companies, government agencies and even colleges. In this economic climate the pressure to surrender such very personal information can be overwhelming.

Erin Egan, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer has this to say:

Facebook takes your privacy seriously. We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privilege.

To read more about this issue please go HERE