Virginia Trooper Applicants Must Allow Social Media Review

The Virginia State Police now require potential troopers to provide their social media accounts for review during an extensive background screening process, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch .

Candidates must provide a list of social sites they use, including private profiles. They must also sit down with a background investigator to review them together.

The ACLU of Virginia has decried the process as "deplorable" and akin to "asking to see someone's diary."

The practice of potential employers asking for usernames and passwords has led to proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would bar public agencies from asking for access to employees' social networks.