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National Science Foundation Hit by Internet Porn Scandal

by Amar Toor on September 30, 2009 at 12:30 PM


At the taxpayer-funded National Science Foundation (NSF), investigations of employees' inappropriate use of Internet pornography have skyrocketed over the past year, The Washington Times reports. According to foundation records obtained by the Times, out of 10 closed misconduct investigations last year, seven involved online pornography. The NSF, with over 1,200 employees and an endowment listed last year around $6 billion, is a public institution designed to dole out grants to universities and research institutions for an array of scientific endeavors. Unfortunately, this spike in employee misbehavior diverted the NSF from its primary duties of grant fraud investigation, and has cost taxpayers, as well.

One official, for example, spent 331 days on porn sites, chatting with nude or scantily clad women, sparking an investigation that cost taxpayers anywhere between $13,800 and $58,000, alone. Before resigning after being exposed, the official attempted to explain away his frisky forays by claiming he was only chatting with these poor, disadvantaged (and, by total coincidence, naked) girls because he wanted to help them make a little money, so they could "help their parents," the investigation report explains.

Another employee was caught with a plethora of pictures, videos, and even a PowerPoint slide presentation of pornographic images. When asked the last time he completed a day at the office without downloading porn, he responded, "Um, I can't remember."

But the scandal really isn't all that funny, no matter how many snide chuckles or 'NSF(W)' jokes it elicits. It's an indelible stain on the credibility of the NSF, and a despicable waste of money. What is, perhaps, even more shocking, though, is that employees were able to access porn so easily from their workplace. Very few office networks allow access to questionable sites, so how could a government-run institution have such a porous content control system? Though Deputy Inspector General Tim Cross confirmed that the NSF had plugged those holes, it's still pretty amazing that there weren't more controls already in place.

We sincerely hope that the problem is indeed fixed, and that the NSF and its employees can go back to giving money to scientists fighting cancer, and not to webcam girls doing their best "Private Dancer." [From: The Washington Times via The Huffington Post]

Tags: government, nsf, porn, science, top, work, workplace

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