That interviewer sounds a little rude, but... I think I agree with them. Those are materially different questions.

If I think I've been underpaid in the past, I can just start naming a new salary expectation but I can't rewrite my salary history.

In any event, I think it's also always OK for the applicant to say "I'd rather not say."

She wasn't rude at all - or even incorrect, for that matter. I've since followed up with HR professionals and even one lawyer: there was nothing illegal about her question.

My point was that there is still plenty of space within the bounds of law and politeness for you to compromise your negotiating position to a prospective employer. That's all. : )

I think that depends on the person doing the interview. Like if I were interviewing someone, and discussing salary was part of my role, and they named an expectation 2x what we were planning to pay, I'd ask them why.

Perhaps that's the norm where they come from? Maybe they heard Google paid that much? Maybe they were just throwing out a high number to anchor high?

It's funny to imagine the interview game being like the dating game teenagers talk about, where one wrong move, facial expression, or word uttered can wreck everything.

I think that intentions matter when it comes to the law and questions like this.

They are technically different questions, but think for a moment about what the speaker is trying to achieve.

This is not talking with a friend, making pleasantries. This is at work, getting paid, by a company, to learn how low an offer they can make for it to be accepted.

Pretending that the conversation is anything except that, is serving the interests of companies who try to do exactly that.

Telling someone that what they perceive is not what it is, that what others can perceive is not what it is, is like flickering the lights on and off, and saying nothing is wrong, and asking why someone is so upset.

When asked about expectations, I always give a high number and they have to negotiate down from it. That's the universal rule of price negotiations, that's how it worked when buying a rug in Cairo in 1000 AD, and that's still how it works now.