• CNet, Friday, July 9, 2010 11:08 AM

Productivity levels in Washington stand to skyrocket now that the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to block the viewing or downloading of porn on government computers. "After all, a series of news reports have highlighted ... how some financial regulators earning six-figure salaries were watching porn at work as Wall Street imploded," writes CNet's Politics and Law blog. "So, as it turns out, did employees of the National Science Foundation and the Interior Department -- including ones who were supposed to be inspecting oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico."

Not surprisingly, civil libertarians warn that the legislation unreasonably infringes on Americans' First Amendment rights. The wording of the measure -- which states, "None of the funds made available in this act may be used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography" -- is far-reaching. According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, such wording implicates government contractors as well as federal agencies.

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