Delaware legislators debate protecting passwords and transit officers

The State House in Delaware wants to protect students and applicants to schools from being forced to disclose their social media passwords.

A bill to make it against the law to require disclosure of password or account information sailed through the House Tuesday in Dover.

Representative Darryl Scott (D-Dover ) said under current law there is no recognized right to privacy in a student’s or applicant’s social networking site passwords and account information, and he wanted to offer students “some level of protection.” The legislation also specifies that a school could not deny admission to an applicant or punish a student for refusing to provide access to a social media password or account.

Other legislative news

The State Senate has approved a bill to enhance the penalties for anyone found guilty of assaulting a public transit operator. The penalties would be similar to those in place involving attacks on volunteer firefighters, paramedics and other public safety workers . The offense would be classified as second-degree assault, while it’s currently a third-degree misdemeanor.

Under the bill sponsored by Representative Gerald Brady (D.-Wilmington), someone who intentionally injures a public transit operator who is on the job would be subject to a charge of first-degree assault.