Maryland’s prison agency is revising its policy of directing prospective corrections officers to divulge usernames and passwords for Facebook and other social media, the Associated Press reports.
The agency said Wednesday its review of the social media use is voluntary.
The revisions follows an American Civil Liberties Union complaint in February that an officer seeking to work after taking personal leave was ordered to give up his Facebook passwords to get his job back.
The prison said that participation in the agency review of social media was always voluntary and the new policy makes that clear.
The agency said it seeks the information to weed out applicants with criminal histories or gang connections. It says the policy has helped disqualify at least seven job applicants.
