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Scotland Won’t Discipline Staff for Pornhub Access

8/24/2026

30 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Scotland's civil service did not formally discipline staff who accessed Pornhub on government devices.
Freedom of Information data recorded six Pornhub visits and ten Betfair or Paddy Power accesses over six months in 2024/25.
Government policy classifies minor IT code breaches as informal matters handled by line managers, not logged centrally.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said the lack of formal action was unacceptable.

History

Historical Context

The Computer Misuse Act 1990, introduced by MP Michael Colvin after the 1988 Gold & Schifreen case, originally capped imprisonment at twelve months. A 2004 amendment raised the maximum to two years and added denial-of-service offences. Continued scrutiny, exemplified by Home Secretary Priti Patel’s 2021 review, frames today’s Scottish civil-service handling of minor website accesses within the Act’s evolving scope.

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Story summary

Scotland's civil service did not formally discipline staff who accessed Pornhub on government devices.
Freedom of Information data recorded six Pornhub visits and ten Betfair or Paddy Power accesses over six months in 2024/25.
Government policy classifies minor IT code breaches as informal matters handled by line managers, not logged centrally.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said the lack of formal action was unacceptable.

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