You're kidding!? How vulnerable do you have to be to consent to give your credentials to whatever to your employer? If you want to hire a slave, ask for that stuff.
Discussion
Employers are looking for compliance during this process, obviously. Not just the information being asked for. A compliant employee is better than a non-compliant employee from their perspective.
I don’t think it’s that deep. They just don’t want bad PR if they happen to hire a very vocal Neo Nazi or something. They could give a damn about the president it sets as long as their interests are protected
I’m not guessing. Speaking from first hand experience. This is what I walked away from.
Future PR concerns are an issue, for sure but not that this point in the process. The main objective is to find candidates willing to comply with proving information (more eager the better). And then, and only after compliance, thinning the candidate pool by evaluating past ethics (criminal history/past employment references), then experience, and lastly personality (interview).