It’s On The Internet – Can I Use It?

The Finnish Data Ombudsman ruled in November that employers can not use information on their current employees or prospective hires which is obtained by using Internet search engines, such as Google or Yahoo. Employers must collect employee’s personal information primarily from the employee; use of other sources assumes consent from the employee. The Ombudsman’s decision may make life more difficult for HR personnel, as employers may not even check the reliability of a job applicant’s CV from publicly available sources on the Internet without first obtaining the applicant’s permission.

The Ombudsman’s statement was given in response to a job applicant’s complaint that an employer had used a five-year old news group discussion found on the Internet against the applicant. In the news group discussion, the applicant claimed to be mentally unstable. The applicant was not aware how the news group discussion ended up on the Internet.