You may never know why. The email will arrive and reasons offered for your rejection might be the real ones—or not. Bosses have always spied on their employees, then judged them. Now the rise of the online self means the employer’s eye can travel still farther.
Even before the pandemic, research found that 28% of large companies had turned down applicants after carrying out such checks. And it is becoming more popular: Reed Screening, a large agency, was asked to run over a third more social-media checks in December 2021 than a year earlier. This month the government gave the practice approval when the Department for Education said schools and colleges “should consider carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence (尽职调查)”.
The way screening works is simple: Any “problematic” behaviours will be marked with a red flag. There are laws governing such online screening. David Erdos, head of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law, says that companies are supposed to warn candidates before screening their social media and tell them that they have the right to hold back permission. Some companies follow these rules, but others may not. As for the right to refuse, it is hardly practicable. “Who on earth is…going to be that person who says: ‘Hang on a minute, I’m not happy about that?’” asks Mr Erdos. “That itself is likely to be a red flag.”
All agree that the spread of online screening is alarming, as it is so unforgiving. People may be unable ever to be free of their online past, says Mr Erdos. As indeed some footballers, recently punished for comments made almost a decade ago when they were but teenagers, have found to their cost.
Those within the industry think laws should be tightened, with punishment for illegal act. In the meantime, being very careful is advisable. In talks to university students, Mr Erdos warns them what companies will do to their social media when they apply for jobs. They are “universally terrified”, he says. And rightly.
【小题1】What can we infer about online screening from paragraph 2?| A．It is turned down by large companies. | B．It boosts the development of education. |
| C．It is becoming increasingly acceptable. | D．It highlights the wisdom of employers. |
| A．They reject the red flags. | B．They have to submit to it. |
| C．They will charge the company. | D．They postpone carrying it out. |
| A．Companies are tolerant of it. | B．Its influence is hard to erase. |
| C．It should be under strict laws. | D．University students are free to do it. |
| A．Big Employer Is Watching You |
| B．Fix Your Eyes on Online Screening |
| C．Social-media Checks Are Around the Corner |
| D．Checks Online Are to Blame for Unemployment |
