Travis
job interviews: is your life an open (face)book?
There are plenty of questions that employers are legally prohibited from asking during a job interview. These laws are in place to prevent discrimination, and to help ensure that a hiring decision is not based on criteria that is not pertinent to the job. For instance, an employer may not ask if you own a vehicle; this would prohibit those who lack the funds to purchase and maintain a vehicle from being hired to a position for which they are entirely suited. The new trend of prospective employers demanding their applicant’s Facebook password goes far beyond the limits of inappropriate job interview questions, and into a territory on par with illegal surveillance.
I have nothing to hide; I conduct myself with the utmost integrity in my personal life as well as professionally. But what these employers are asking is the equivalent of tapping your phone, going through your mail, searching your house, following you around town, and eavesdropping on any and all conversations that you have with your friends and family. I would not work for any company advocating such a gross invasion of privacy.
In fact, not only is it an invasion of your privacy, it’s an invasion of the privacy of your friends and family. These people have explicitly opted to share certain information with you specifically. By giving someone else access to your account, your friends’ and family’s information is compromised. Would Aunt Vivian have been so candid about her colon cancer if she knew that your conversation together was going to be shared with a stranger? Would your best friend have been so open about her court case if she knew that the information would be accessible by strangers rummaging through your account?
Facebook is built on its privacy settings. It has taken a lot of heat over the years because it doesn’t do enough to protect peoples’ private information, and because the privacy controls have been confusing. But people use it with the understanding that they can share specific information with only the people they choose. If they wish not to make their entire lives public, that is their right. What these employers are asking is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service, it breaks the trust between you and your loved ones, and it breaks the trust between you and Facebook.
Facebook monetizes our social information in aggregate–they have made little effort to hide this. When providing your information to Facebook, you are inherently granting them permission to do so in exchange for the service they provide. However, this information is largely anonymous. No one is taking note that you, Brian Jones, vote for the Green Party, are a devout Catholic, have a tattoo of a dolphin on your thigh, and dote on your niece. Instead, Facebook will share the information that a certain number of males, aged 18-25, located in your area, have a certain general set of browsing habits. You will see targeted ads, but these are automated. Likewise, the information that you post will not be shared with just anyone in your Friends list; you have granular control over how this information is shared. Despite questions about the integrity of Facebook, people still expect that their private information will remain private.
If you have made information about yourself publicly available online, an employer can certainly take that information into account when making a hiring decision. But if you have private, password-protected information that just so happens to be accessible via the internet, that does not give an employer the right to demand access to that information. Labour laws need to be updated to reflect new technologies before these practices become more commonplace, and Facebook itself needs to be more active in speaking out against this if they want their users to feel comfortable using the service.
Times are tough, and beggars can’t be choosers. If it came down to “hand over the password or starve”, I suppose I would delete my account on principle. Then again, they could just opt to snoop though my house and follow me around town.
Except, no, there are laws against those.
le bon jack
I’ve never been particularly moved by the passing of any public figure; I’m often perplexed by any reaction at all. But the passing of Jack Layton brought me to tears.
In 1991, Jack Layton co-founded the White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women.
Many disagreed with his politics, but few could help but admire the man for his integrity, his positive enthusiasm, and the way he genuinely cared for all people. He connected with them on a personal level. He reached out to young people who were alienated by other politicians. Across the country, even in the conservative heartland, people are gathering in memory, leaving testaments like “Jack Layton was the reason I started voting” and “He is the reason I became engaged in politics again.”
Layton showed Canada what it could be; he showed it that, in an age of cynicism, there is still room for hope. He was unwavering in his ideals and principles, and fought tirelessly to bring about his vision of an equal and just society.
Layton made tremendous successes through what seemed like sheer force of will. He led positive campaigns when other parties relied on attack ads and vitriol. He was passionate and determined without hostility or malice. Where Chretien and Harper had beaten back the Bloc by demonizing them, Layton brought the country together through his joy and optimism.
During his acceptance speech as the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, he quoted Tommy Douglas, saying, “Dream no little dream.” He overcame the odds, time and again. And he never backed down, no matter what.
Those of us who shared his passion for social democracy saw him as the very embodiment of those virtues he extolled. He did for this country what we all longed to do. So, with his passing, I am all too aware of how sorely people like him are needed.
I can’t help but think of Joe Hill’s farewell message: “Don’t mourn; organize.”
Thanks for everything, Jack.
See also:
Jack Layton’s last letter to Canadians
Jack Layton remembered as ‘courageous’
The National: Jack Layton 1950-2011 (Video)
Six ways Jack Layton helped build Toronto
silly playlist
There are times when you simply need to don a phoney moustache and monocle, and walk around the house making bird noises (don’t judge). If you’re in the mood for taking things a little less seriously, listen to my new playlist:
“Delightfully Wacky Tunes That You May Never Have Heard (But Kudos if You Have)”
Eccentric, lesser-known songs, including an erotic ode to a four-track tape recorder, a hilarious nod to the apocalypse, and Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg singing backup for a rowdy Leonard Cohen (hardly a choir of angels).
canadians for truth
In an effort to protest the CRTC’s proposed changes to “ease the ban on false or misleading news”, I’ve set up a new website: www.canadiansfortruth.ca
It’s a collection of resources for taking action, and links to articles for staying informed.
According to a recent article from the Wire Report, the CRTC has been opposed to the changes from the beginning; however, they continue to be pressed by a parliamentary committee. I thought the following was worth noting:
“[T]he serious harm that could result from the broadcast of false news is more foreseeable and potentially more serious than the harm that could result from the publication of false statements or tales not even held out as news and distributed by means other than broadcasting,” the letter, signed by John Keogh, the CRTC’s senior legal counsel, said.
“There is a reach and immediacy to the broadcasting industry that means that news bulletins heard by large audiences may not be subject to timely, independent verification. Moreover, at least in Canada, where prohibitions on false news have long been part of the tradition of regulation, there is a high level of public trust in what is broadcast as news by the licensees regulated by the Commission.”
save canadian journalism
The CRTC has proposed to ease the ban on broadcasting false or misleading news. While I am all for free speech, these changes, if passed, would effectively put an end to journalistic accountability and integrity.
Not only does this give broadcasters agency to further misinform the public, it permits them to lie outright. The day’s top story could legally be completely fictional. The only instance where they might be held accountable is if you can prove that the story directly endangered an individual’s life, health, or safety.
These regulations would set the stage for American-style news broadcasts in which the facts would be distorted to suit the corporation that presents them, and the news would place a distant second or third to the entertainment/shock value of the program.
In the United States, the standard for broadcast journalism used to be Walter Cronkite. Now, the most-watched news network is Fox News. Fox News gains viewers by affirming their existing beliefs, then feeding into their fears with misleading information presented as truth. The proposed changes from the CRTC would make Canada’s standards even lower than those of the US.
I don’t believe that it is a coincidence that this proposal comes just as the new right-wing Sun TV News, dubbed by many as “Fox News North”, is about to launch. Investigations are underway, but no one can uncover who actually pushed for the CRTC to make this change. However, the CRTC’s new, under-qualified, vice-chair of broadcasting was appointed allegedly because of his close ties to Harper.
If you look at the current media environment in the US, I think it’s easy to agree that this sort of hate-fuelled discourse results in a culture that is fearful and angry. Regardless of your politics, false news is bad for everyone.
This proposal was presented quickly and quietly. The deadline for public comments to the CRTC has just passed, but the proposal can still be stopped.
I’ve created the following website where you can find links for more information, and ways to easily make your voice heard: www.canadiansfortruth.ca
I urge you to contact your local MP, the CRTC, the federal party leaders, and major news organizations. I will be doing more in the coming days and would appreciate any feedback or suggestions you may have.
Thank you for reading.
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the one man clash, the bard of barking, ol’ big nose himself
In 2008, I saw Billy Bragg for the first time. He’s an inspiring fellow and a joy to see live. Here is a video.
my evening turned into a cohen brothers movie
The day had begun with an invitation to a blues jam at a downtown café, which I had promptly disregarded. …But let me skip ahead.
During an evening trip to acquire bed sheets (ideally, ones that tie the room together) I got sidetracked by a chance to see Bogart and Bacall on the big screen. Upon leaving the theatre, I took a wrong turn and ended up in some unfamiliar part of town. When I finally found my way to someplace familiar, my car started dinging at me. Overheating, it said! So I pulled over in a bus loading zone and turned off the engine for a few minutes while flipping through my car’s owner’s manual (because, really, what do I know about cars except that they somehow take me places?). My situation did not improve, so I pulled into the 7 Eleven down the street. I popped the hood and stared blankly at the enigmatic contraption, assuming only that my coolant was leaking. While contemplating calling a tow-truck, I met a strange lady in a housecoat. I knew immediately that she was either completely crazy or just plain fabulous; it turned out to be the latter as she just so happened to be a master mechanic and proceeded to handily diagnose the problem. After getting as much coolant into the system as I could, I drove diligently to the nearest garage where I left my car for the night. I started the long walk home, passing the crowds of drunken yokels until I heard the sound of a blues jam coming from an underground café. Somehow fate had delivered me precisely to the place to which I had been invited and had decided to avoid. Figuring it was far too wacky of a coincidence, I went in and stuck around for awhile. I talked to some old friends while some park bench philosopher rambled about the origin of music beginning with the rhythm of some cave man’s heartbeat. Then I went home.
darkness: the movie
This is something I made for a film class. I became enamoured with the ridiculous idea of a “blind video”, and of the story being about only the audience. This was the result.
the road to a new you!
This is the second half of a video I made as part of a Psychology Group Project.
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