Relating to Social Media privacy and educational institutions
Summary
HB2845 would create a new article in West Virginia law establishing social media privacy protections for students and employees at institutions of higher education. The bill prohibits public and private colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions from requiring current or prospective students or employees to disclose usernames or passwords for social media accounts, and from requiring students to add institutional personnel to their contacts or change privacy settings as a condition of admission, employment, or participation in curricular or extracurricular activities.
The bill also bars institutions from retaliating against current students or refusing to admit or hire prospective students or employees because they exercised these rights. At the same time, it preserves an institution’s ability to view publicly available online information and to comply with federal or state law. The measure is aimed at nonpublic social media content and applies broadly to higher education institutions operating in West Virginia.
Impact
HB2845 would add a new statutory protection in the West Virginia Code governing higher education institutions, limiting their authority to access private social media accounts or condition educational or employment opportunities on social media disclosures. It would affect public and private postsecondary institutions, including colleges, universities, technical schools, and trade-oriented programs, and would create enforceable limits on admissions, hiring, discipline, and participation decisions tied to social media privacy. The bill would not restrict review of publicly available online content or compliance with other legal requirements.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be framed as a privacy-protection bill with a generally pro-student and pro-employee orientation. Its stated purpose suggests support for limiting institutional overreach into private online accounts. No formal opposition, amendments, or recorded vote history is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented controversy in the record supplied.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the balance between student and employee privacy and institutional oversight. Supporters would likely view the bill as preventing colleges from coercing access to private social media and protecting applicants and students from retaliation. Possible concerns from institutions could involve their ability to enforce conduct standards, investigate misconduct, or monitor online behavior in limited circumstances, though the bill expressly preserves access to publicly available information and compliance with other laws. No specific objections or supporters are identified in the provided committee materials.
Making a supplementary appropriation to the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Medical Services – Policy and Programming and State Board of Education – State Department of Education
Supplementing and amending appropriations to the Higher Education Policy Commission, Higher Education Policy Commission – Administration – Control Account
Relating to the compensation and professional representation of prospective student athletes and student athletes participating in intercollegiate athletic programs at certain institutions of higher education.
In intercollegiate athletics, further providing for definitions and providing for rights of parties, for prohibitions on institutions, for athletic associations, conferences and organizations with authority over intercollegiate sports, for NIL agreements, for athlete agents and upfront payments, for athletic program structure, for protections and right to adjudicate, for private civil action, for settlements and for severability.