SALEM — A bill prohibiting universities and colleges from asking students to hand over passwords to their social media accounts sailed through the state Senate Monday.

Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, was a chief proponent of the measure. Asking for the password to, say, Twitter or Facebook, he said, is akin to asking someone for their email password or diary.

“Kids today are putting their life on social media,” Knopp said after the measure passed unanimously.

The bill, Senate Bill 344, now heads to the House, where counterpart legislation has already passed. House Bill 2654 would bar employers from asking for the same information of employees. Both bills carve out exemptions, including one for school-based or criminal investigations.

The legislation focusing on employers would also prevent them from compelling an employee to “friend” them or add them to their social media contact list. Similar legislation has passed or is working its way through the legislative chambers in at least 35 other states, according to National Conference of State Legislatures.

Students who complain of being forced to provide passwords may sue for up to $200, or actual damages, according to the bill.

Knopp said he was first alerted to the idea by his social-media savvy 17-year-old son, Reagan Knopp. The younger Knopp, who is on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, along with other social media sites, noted it’s an instance where technology has outpaced the law.

Reagan Knopp is home-schooled and works in his father’s Capitol office as a legislative aide.

“My dad is both my principal and employer,” Reagan said.

And yes, the senator does have his son’s password information.

In other cases throughout the nation, student athletes have been asked to turn over their passwords or employers have attempted the same. But in Oregon, the goal is to get ahead of such scenarios, according to Becky Straus with American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

“We’re trying to get ahead of it before any cases come to Oregon,” Straus said.

For students, in particular, social media is an integrated part of life.

“Obviously students are at the prime age of using social media in colleges or universities and we want to make sure their privacy is maintained at school,” Straus said.

The bill does not apply to K-12 schools, but would be applicable to prospective students as well as current ones.