California employers can no longer demand, or even ask employees and job applicants for their social media login information. The law goes into effect January 1.
 
Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Nora Campos of San Jose introduced the legislation to protect information behind what she called the “social media wall.” She said the state “must continue to evolve its privacy protections to keep up with advancing technology.”

"The bill recognizes that our online lives deserve the same kind of privacy that we have in our offline lives," said Chris Conley, a policy attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.

"Our social media accounts, which is what this bill protects, contain information about our friends, about our relationships, about our activities; where we go and what we do."

Campos has introduced new legislation that would extend the current privacy protections to public employees.