CorpComms Magazine

Germany is considering a law to ban bosses recruiting new employees from snooping on candidates via social networking sites.

According to a draft of the bill, publically accessible data about applicants, such as information trawled from a quick Google search, is still admissible. But any communications posted on sites like Facebook, StudiVZ and StayFriends would not legally be allowed to influence employers' recruitment decisions.

If the draft bill comes into effect, companies found investigating candidates by these means could face fines of up to €300,000 (£246,000).

However, there is concern that the law would be extremely difficult to invoke. The use of Facebook for screening applicants could only be proven had the information gleaned been recorded in the applicant's personal file.

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