Job Discrimination Using Facebook

Imagine being rejected from a job you have been waiting for your whole life because of a mistake you made in high school. This is a tactic that employers are starting to use on a regular basis. Facebook is a commonly used social network that has everything from sexual orientation to political views of the user. The profiles also include pictures that date back to when the account was created, this means that everyone can see the events you were attending and who you were with. Anyone who views your profile will have their opinion on what they see, these people could be your future employers. Is it right to be judged by your social profile? Some states do have laws stating that you are not allowed to keep a job away from someone because of their political views, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. There is also a side to the story saying that the employers need to refrain from doing this because the information that is being evaluated may be altered or could come off having a different meaning than what was intended. A survey of 350 employers was conducted in the city of New York. The conductors of the survey found that 44 percent of the party viewed the profiles of possible job candidates, 35 percent have looked at profiles of current employees. If there are pictures of this person on the internet with a cigarette in his/her hand can the employer assume that the person is a smoker? Also, is it right to discriminate people by what they do on their own time? Absolutely not. What people do on their own time and what they have done in the past on their time is none of the employers business. The concept that the internet is public property is an understandable argument but you cannot judge someone by pictures on a website, it is morally wrong. I feel that job discrimination using Facebook and other social networks is wrong but if you want to protect yourself, keep the pictures you wouldn't want your grandmother to see off of the internet.

Youtube Video: Facebook & Employers- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaIhXe_nT4k

Photography Laws

I'm a third year photography student in GBN, but I always liked photography, even before I started taking photo classes. I love it so much that I'm sure that at some point in my life I will study it in college. But after reading about the issues that other photographers have faced....I must say that I'm nervous. Of course, the photographer mentioned in the link lives in the UK, but it can easily happen here, in the USA, as well. I have been downtown to take photographs and luckily I was never arrested or been stopped from taking a picture. Yes, there have been some...well, less than warm looks from random passer-by's that happen to be in my shot, but I was never told to stop taking pictures by a police officer.
Photography is an important aspect of today's society. Photographers should be allowed to do their job freely, without any unnecessary, unfair limitations.

There are a few laws that a photographer should be aware of:

1. The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs. Examples of places that are traditionally considered public are streets, sidewalks and parks. So basically, you can go to downtown Chicago and take pictures there without any worries.

2.Anyone can be photographed without their consent except when they are in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as dressing rooms, restrooms, medical facilities, and inside their homes. This was decided in the Nussenzweig v. DiCorcia case in 2005. DiCorcia was taking pictures in Time Square with an elaborate system of strobe lights, he was taking pictures from 20 feet away, collecting images of passers-by (including Nussenzweig) without their knowledge. He then exhibited these photographs and published them in a book. Nussenzweig felt that his privacy was violated, so he filed a lawsuit. The court ruled that DiCorcia's use of the picture was for artistic expression, and not commercial. So it was decided that a photographer could display, publish, and sell (at least in limited editions) street photography without the consent of the subjects of these photos.

3. You are allowed to take pictures of criminal activities,law enforcement officers, and accidents or fires. But you need to know that police officers have the right to keep you away from areas where you may disturb their activities or endanger their safety in some way. For example, if you are taking pictures of a car accident, you probably won't be allowed to get really up close to the scene, simply because you will probably interfere with the police officers work.

4. Private parties have no right to confiscate your film without a court order. If you are taking pictures of a store and the owner of that store comes up to you and asks you to give them your film, this can constitute as a criminal offense, such as theft, or coercion. It can also constitute a civil tort, such as conversion.

(Photo by Alex Turner)