Here's the real porn surfing story

The SEC may be justifiably accused of falling asleep these past few years, but it's not because a few dozen of its 3,600 employees are watching porn on the job (see story). Yet, the SEC's leaked report on porn surfing is like media cat nip: funny and infuriating at the same time (only the Arizona immigration story has gotten more prominent play). But porn in the workplace is an old problem - and it's certainly not relegated to the SEC. Many huge corporations have had their own struggles in dealing with it (just do a Google search and you'll find examples). From a USA Today story in 2007:

More than a decade after employers began cracking down on those who view online pornography at work, porn is continuing to create tension in offices across the nation -- in part because laptop computers, cellphones and other portable devices have made it easier for risk-takers to visit such websites undetected.

A lot of companies have been able to filter out naughty sites from their own systems, but it's relatively easy to access porn on portable devices, even ones owned by the company. That's led to legitimate concerns about liability:

Sometimes, employees who were punished or fired for viewing adult-oriented websites at work have struck back. IBM is being sued by James Pacenza, who in 2003 was fired from his job at the company's research park in East Fishkill, N.Y., after he visited an adult chat site while at work and neglected to log off when he left the computer. Another worker discovered the site and told a manager. Pacenza, a Vietnam War veteran, took IBM to federal court, claiming that his firing was wrong and discriminatory. In court papers, he says he relied on visiting the website to help ease post-traumatic stress disorder.