Senate Passes Social Media Privacy Protection Legislation with Senator Jason Lewis’ Support

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed S.2320, An Act relative to social media privacy protection. The bill aims to protect the personal social media accounts of students and employees across the Commonwealth.

Specifically, the legislation prevents employers and schools from requesting and requiring access to the personal social media accounts of applicants, employees, and students as a condition of acceptance, employment, or participation in school activities.

“As use of social media becomes increasingly ubiquitous, we must ensure that legal protections regarding the privacy of these personal communications keep up,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “Information contained on an individual’s social media account should not be abused by an employer or school. This legislation will implement appropriate legal protections.”

More than twenty-five states have already enacted legislation addressing this issue, and bills on this topic are pending in many other jurisdictions. This is the third session in which the Senate has voted favorably on this bill.

The legislation now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.