In Trouble for Reading This? - Here's An Argument

It's just like reading the newspaper, or at least that's the argument that worked for a New York City employee who was canned for surfing the web during working hours. The AP story, Judge Ok's Personal Internet Use, has some details. But the money quote from the Administrative Law Judge John Spooner was this:

The Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper. He noted that city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance." Spooner ruled after a search of Choudhri's computer files revealed he had visited several news and travel sites.

The result, the most minor form of discipline -- a reprimand. A decision his lawyer called, understandably, "very reasonable."