Question

an internship director is reviewing applications for next year’s class. Is it legal or ethical to look at an applicant’s public facebook or twitter page and use information she/he finds there in making his/her decision?

Answer 1

A potential employer cannot legally use information posted by the applicant on social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc to decide on the applicant. It can be taken as discrimination. This is because social media will disclose information about the applicant which cannot be used to finalize a potential intern, The social media page can show their ethnicity, disclose a pregnancy or reveal the applicants' religious views. This kind of information is not allowed to be used while selecting an appropriate candidate for an internship or a job. The internship director reviewing applicant's online pages could result in a discrimination lawsuit. "Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964" protects employees and applicants against discrimination because of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.

Ethically according to the utilitarian theory screening the social media of the applicant results in good consequences which outweigh the bad consequences. Hence it is ethically correct according to the utilitarian theory.

According to Kant's theory who was contradicting the utilitarian theory, the action of screening the social media pages of the applicant is not morally correct. According to Kantian ethics invading into the privacy of an applicant without his permission would be violating Kantian ethics. It would be an affront to his dignity, security, and privacy. Making hiring decision based on online information which is protected would be demeaning and could also be treated as legal discrimination. If information is available publically and is accessible without a password the employer can review it but not in a discriminatory manner.

As it is in the directors/company's self-interest to get information regarding the candidates and to analyze the candidate's behavior and his attitude towards policies, etc. So as long as the company informs the applicant’s that they will be reviewing their online presence and it is done keeping him in the loop. It is not morally incorrect as the organization has to protect its self-interest too.

So ethically we can conclude that monitoring online social media, investigation, and decision making by the employer is morally correct as long as it is directly related to the employees' job performance and consent is obtained from the applicant. Also, the information should publically available. Legally the information cannot be used in a discriminatory manner.