Bozeman, Mont., Rescinds Password Requirement for Job Applicants

When Bozeman, Mont., officials announced that government job applicants must surrender their login and password to their social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, bloggers and media said the city was violating privacy and officials were "out of their minds." On Friday the city released a statement rescinding the order, saying: "The extent of our request for a candidate's password, user name, or other Internet information appears to have exceeded that which is acceptable to our community." The city has terminated the practice until a more comprehensive evaluation of the practice can be conducted.

In 2007 Bozeman and neighboring Missoula were found to be high in identity fraud activity.