What happens when the pictures and content you post online for friends to see are also viewed by potential employers or colleges? The question has heightened in importance through recent years, where photos, profiles, and online commentary are being factored into who gets hired or accepted into a certain school. A recent CareerBuilder study found that two in five companies use social-networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to screen potential candidates. But should a candidate's social profile be considered in the screening process? Some argue that it is unethical for entities to look at personal profiles to judge their applicants. There may be no correlation between the information on those profiles and whether the person is qualified, and entities could often make judgments off of personal biases. Others argue that applicants must already comply with background checks, drug tests, credit checks, and verification of employment history, education, and income. Therefore, a simple profile check should be acceptable. This controversy brings up a broader question of what is "private" and "public" in the age of social media, which leads to the greater issue of what our rights are as citizens. .
While the Supreme Court has not heard any cases dealing directly with the employment or acceptance of a person based on their social media accounts, the court has made some decisions that could influence what an employer or admissions department can decide. One instance is a case in Hampton, VA where a public employee was fired by the newly re-elected sheriff for a like on Facebook of the Sheriff's opponent. The Public worker sued the Sheriff, but the court decided that the First Amendment did not protect the worker's like as a legitimate form of protected speech. However, Supreme Court Decisions such as Branti vs. Finkel from 1980 states that public employees are protected from discharge solely for their political beliefs under the first and fourteenth amendments.