The other bill would block universities from demanding usernames, passwords and other information related to social media and email accounts from current and prospective students, as well as student groups.



“The Golden State is pioneering the social media revolution and these laws will protect all Californians from unwarranted invasions of their personal social media accounts,” Brown said in a statement.



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Fittingly, the California governor took to Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social media websites to announce he signed the two bills into law, Brown's office said.Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced similar legislation in the House this April. Employers who run afoul of the rules in the bill would be subject to a $10,000 civil penalty.

The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill in April that bans employers in the state from asking current and prospective employees for their usernames and passwords to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, the Baltimore Sun reported.



The practice of employers requesting social media passwords from job applicants first came to light in an Associated Press article earlier this year, which sparked outrage from lawmakers.

