New bill aims to protect digital privacy of Wisc. residents

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A new bipartisan bill introduced in the state legislation earlier this week aims to protect the digital privacy of Wisconsin residents.

The bill would guard personal social media and email accounts from being accessed by employers, school, and landlords. It would also ban such groups from disciplining or firing individuals who refuse to give out their passwords to the accounts.

"This is the next frontier in the effort to protect the privacy and person information of Wisconsin residents," said Executive Director of Wired Wisconsin, Thad Nation. "As technology advances, it's good to see the Wisconsin legislation ensuring our laws adapt as well."

According to the bill, employers and schools would continue to have access to accounts and electronic devices that it owns. The bill will not protect anything that an individual posts publicly.

"While we cannot legislate away the desire to overshare on social media, we should make sure that what is intended to stay private, stays private," said Nation.

A recent global survey shows that seven percent of U.S. workers between the ages of 24-34 say they have lost out on a job because of a social media post.