Bill > S962

This bill, titled "Relative to social media privacy protection," aims to safeguard the privacy of students and employees concerning their personal social media accounts. It prohibits educational institutions, including higher education, elementary, and secondary schools, as well as the University of Massachusetts, from demanding or requesting access to a student's or applicant's personal social media accounts, which are defined as accounts used for private communication unrelated to educational purposes. Furthermore, these institutions cannot force students or applicants to add school personnel to their social media contacts as a condition of admission or participation in activities, nor can they take negative actions against them for refusing to comply with such requests. Similarly, for employees and job applicants, employers are forbidden from requiring access to personal social media accounts or compelling them to add employers or their agents as contacts, with exceptions for publicly available information and legal compliance requirements. The bill also clarifies that these provisions do not restrict institutions or employers from having lawful policies regarding the use of their own electronic equipment.