7 Landmark Tech Laws Passed in 2012

1. Employers Can't Ask for Your Facebook Login

A handful of states, including Illinois, California and Maryland, passed laws making it illegal for employers to ask for your Facebook or other social media passwords. While not a common occurrence, it was apparently happening to warrant legislative action in the U.S.We're not saying the law is unbelievable; we're saying the fact that we even need this law is unbelievable. We realize economic times are tough, but no would-be employee should hand over the social keys as part of the interview process.Image credit: Flickr, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

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The year 2012 was a wild ride for tech policy. Right off the bat, the United States witnessed a heated debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, which was ultimately defeated. Next up was the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act -- CISPA -- which passed the House but didn't make it through the Senate.

SEE ALSO: Why Citizens Demand More Social Media in Law Enforcement

While none of those bills were signed into law, we have seen some pretty crazy laws passed in individual states and elsewhere around the world (for good reasons and bad). In the gallery above, Mashable has collected a handful of the most notable new technology laws of the year, involving everything from cyb…
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