A new law in Germany could soon make it illegal for employers to check out prospective job candidates on Facebook and other non-career focused social networks, according to local newspaper reports.
Bizarrely, however, it will still be legal to “google” applicants, although they are to disregard information that is either too old or outside of a candidate’s control. Social networks specifically designed for professional purposes, think LinkedIn or the larger local player Xing, are OK too.
(Interestingly, there’s no provision for Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s prediction that a free and legal name change once a person reaches adulthood could be the solution.)