Would you give your Facebook login to a potential employer?

U.S. job seekers are increasingly being asked to hand over their login information for Facebook and other social media sites. (iStock)Updated Friday: Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities.

The social networking company is also threatening legal action.

Originally posted Tuesday: Job seekers in the U.S. are increasingly being asked to provide their Facebook login information as part of the interview process, despite questions about the legality of such a practice.

Justin Bassett, for example, was interviewing for a job at a consulting firm when his interviewer tried to access his Facebook profile, The Associated Press reported.

When the interviewer was stymied by his security settings, which he had set to private, she asked him to hand over his login information.

Bassett refused and withdrew his application.

But many other applicants, desperate to find work in a tight job market, are finding it difficult to refuse.

Asking for someone's login information is "an egregious privacy violation," said George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr.

"It's akin to requiring someone's house keys," Kerr told AP.

Have you ever been asked to hand over your Facebook login information to a potential employer? If so, how did you react? If not, how do you think you'd react in such a situation? Share your thoughts in the field below.


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)