In response to a slew of reports about employers seeking to gain inappropriate access to the Facebook profiles or private information of employees and prospective hires, Facebook itself recently expressed its staunch disapproval with of the practice—even threatening legal action.

In a post on its website, Facebook's Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan warned that sharing or soliciting a Facebook password was a violation of the company's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. The practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends, in addition to potentially exposing employers to unanticipated legal liability, said Egan. “For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don't hire that person,” she said.

Egan warned that Facebook will “take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.”

The American Civil Liberties Union also has spoken out against the practice of employers gaining inappropriate access to people's Facebook profiles. On the heels of the ACLU's objections, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, on March 25 called on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into whether the practice is illegal under federal law.

"I am alarmed and outraged by rapidly and widely spreading employer practices seeking access to Facebook passwords or confidential information on other social networks,” said Blumenthal. “A ban on these practices is necessary to stop unreasonable and unacceptable invasions of privacy.”

Schumer expressed similar concerns. “Employers have no right to ask job applicants for their house keys or to read their diaries," he said. "Why should they be able to ask them for their Facebook passwords and gain unwarranted access to a trove of private information about what we like, what messages we send to people, or who we are friends with?”

Blumenthal and Schumer also announced that they are currently drafting legislation that would outlaw the practice.