3 tips to avoid pitfalls of using social media in background checks

Social media has become a regular part of our everyday lives, and many companies also use them as part of their background checks on potential or current employees. There may be a lot of useful information to be gleaned from social media, but there are also a number of pitfalls that are important to be aware of. In this article, we give you 3 tips on how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls and use social media in an ethical and responsible way in your background checks.

‍

1. Objectivity

The first advice is to be objective in your assessment of the information you find on social media. It can be easy to be influenced by personal biases or biased attitudes, but it is important to be neutral and factual about the information.

‍

2. Verification

The second piece of advice is to verify the information you find on social media with that person. Misunderstandings or misinterpretations can easily arise when you only see a slice of someone's life on social media. By having a conversation with the person, you can clarify any ambiguities and avoid making decisions on an incorrect basis.

‍

3. Ethics

The third piece of advice is to respect privacy and avoid collecting or disclosing unnecessary information about employee privacy. Although the information is publicly available on social media, it does not necessarily mean that it is relevant to the employment relationship. Be sure to use only information that has a direct bearing on the person's ability to hold the position and treat it confidentially.

‍

‍

If you have any questions about the process or need help getting started, you are always welcome to contact us for advice and guidance.

‍

The Danish Data Protection Authority has published guidance on data protection in employment relationships, which also covers the use of social media in the hiring process. The guide focuses on the rules for storing, disclosing and deleting personal data, as well as the rights of employees and applicants. You can find the guide by clicking here.

‍

Moreover, the Data Protection Supervisory Authority's guidance refers to Articles 5 and 13 of the GDPR legislation. You can get an overview of the two articles below.

‍

Article 5: Principles for the processing of personal data

‍

Article 5 sets out the basic principles for the processing of personal data, including:

‍

• Legality, fairness and transparency: Personal data must be processed lawfully, reasonably and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.
• Purpose limitation: Information must be collected for explicitly stated and legitimate purposes and may not be further processed in a manner incompatible with those purposes.
• Data minimization: Only the necessary information in relation to the purpose may be processed.
• Correctness: Information must be correct and, if necessary, updated.
• Storage Restriction: Information may not be kept longer than necessary.
• Integrity and Confidentiality: Data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security

‍

Article 13: Obligation to provide information when collecting personal data from the data subject

‍

When personal data is collected directly from the data subject, the controller shall provide the following information:

‍

• Identity and contact details of the controller.
• the purposes of the processing and the legal basis for it.
• Any recipients of the personal data.
• How long the information will be kept.
• Rights of the data subject, such as the right to access, rectification and erasure.