Maryland: Measure to Bar Higher Ed. Institutions from Social Media Snooping Clears Legislature

The bill forbids college officials from forcing a student to accept their friend requests or otherwise provide a window into his or her social media activity. The students are also protected from any requirement to change their security settings or hand over their account usernames and passwords.

That doesn’t mean students and teachers can never be Facebook friends. The legislation states that a student can voluntarily connect with a college official. And a college can compel a student to grant access to a social media account that was opened at the school’s behest, according to the bill. School officials are also free to check out student information that is publicly accessible online.