Employee social media account privacy
OK Social Media Password Law
Employees
Bars Oklahoma employers from requiring employees or applicants to hand over personal social media usernames and passwords or to open private accounts in front of the employer, and from retaliating or refusing to hire over a refusal. Employers keep access to employer-provided devices and accounts and may investigate specific reports of misconduct or data leaks.
- Where
- Oklahoma
- Citation
- 40 O.S. §§ 173.2-173.3
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2014-11-01
- Enforced by
- Private civil actions by employees and applicants
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Injunctive relief and damages of $500 per violation only (no punitive or emotional damages); suit must be filed within six months and violations proven by clear and convincing evidence.
- Applies to
- Employers located in Oklahoma (as defined in 25 O.S. § 1301(1)), as to employees and job applicants
Practices it requires
- Do not require an employee or applicant to disclose credentials for a personal online social media account or to access a non-public account in the employer's presence.40 O.S. § 173.2(A)(1)-(2) · Only if: Investigations based on specific information about misconduct or transfer of proprietary data are allowed
- Do not retaliate against an employee or refuse to hire an applicant solely for refusing to provide personal social media credentials.40 O.S. § 173.2(A)(3)-(4)
- Credentials inadvertently captured through lawful network monitoring may not be used to access an employee's personal account.40 O.S. § 173.2(C)
Sources
- Official text
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 40 (complete title PDF, Oklahoma Legislature, compiled Dec. 2025), §§ 173.2-173.3
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Research reference, not legal advice.