“Odds are that the misuse of time at the SEC is not the cause of our nation’s financial crisis!” Peters told CNA. “But I suspect we will never know what might have been prevented had SEC personnel been focused on their jobs instead of on computer screens filled with hardcore pornography.”
He reported that there have also been problems about misuse of government computers to view pornography at the National Science Foundation.
He cited a February 24, 2009 article in Industry News reporting that visits to pornography sites at work increased 23 percent in the previous year. Almost 25 percent of employees are visiting porn sites during the workday. A pornography industry leader has said visits to porn sites are highest during office hours.
According to Industry News, workplace pornography use poses a “major legal liability risk” for employers, who can be sued by other workers offended at being exposed to such material. It reported lost productivity is also a business problem.
Though not cited by Peters, writer Mary Eberstadt has reported that a 2007 survey by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Journal found that out of the 30 percent of bosses who reported firing an employee for internet misuse, 84 percent cited pornography as the reason.
Peters referred CNA to a “disturbing article” published at the Marine Corps Times and other military newspapers, titled, “Addicted to online porn: X-rated Internet explosion wreaks havoc with troops’ careers, lives.”
The article explains problems pornography poses for the military, including marital breakup and career-ending misconduct. The problem is believed to be even more serious than among the civilian population.
“Our nation’s role in polluting the world with pornography is also making the war against terrorism more difficult,” Peters added. He cited a Gallup Poll that found 36 percent of Baghdad residents believe Western culture has undermined moral standards by spreading sexually indecent influences.
Discussing other harms of pornography, Peters said that children’s exposure to hardcore adult pornography can interfere with their psychological, moral and spiritual development. It can lead to sexual misconduct, even including sexual abuse of other children.
Asked how the problem of pornography can be combated, Peters said parents, religious leaders and educators need to do a much better job of informing boys and girls about the harms of pornography.
“It would also help if religious leaders in particular would state unabashedly and often that it is morally wrong (sinful, if you will) for individuals of any age to view pornography!”
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“There is also a role for government,” he continued, saying law enforcement is a “necessary part” of the response. He noted obscenity laws on the books at federal and state levels can be enforced against the distribution of hardcore pornography on the internet, television, and in local retail establishment.