Posted on 04/05/2018 4:40:36 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
Bureaucrats use Candy Crush, dating apps on taxpayer-funded phones
At least one employee at the Environmental Protection Agency downloaded the app "Boycott Trump" on a government phone.
Employees are also using dating apps, playing Candy Crush, and watching Netflix on their taxpayer-funded phones, according to a new report by Cause of Action Institute, a nonprofit oversight group.
Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request inquiring about employees use of Signal, an encrypted text messaging app, revealed EPA employees are using their government-issued phones for far more than government business.
One anti-Trump employee downloaded the Boycott Trump app, which was created by the Democratic Coalition Against Trump, the "home of The Resistance to Donald Trump and his agenda."
The app alerts users to businesses that are connected to the Trump organization, so they can avoid their services.
"Make Trump and his allies pay, literally, for their hateful rhetoric and regressive policies. Use consumer action to take a stand for what's right!" a description of the app states.
Opposition to Trump has been common at the EPA, with union members holding "resistance" signs at an anti-Trump rally last year. Last summer, EPA bureaucrats were still crying at their desks over Trump's victory.
Cause of Action began investigating the use of Signal at the agency after Politico reported EPA employees were using the encrypted app to plot resistance against the Trump administration. Cause of Action said employees using the app could be skirting federal records law by concealing internal communications at the agency.
"Records recently released to CoA Institute under the Freedom of Information Act now confirm that a number of EPA employees installed Signal, WhatsApp, and at least sixteen other messaging applications on their agency-furnished devices," Cause of Action said. "These records also reveal that EPA employees installed a panoply of other applications—including email, sports betting, dating, and entertainment applications—that raise questions about the use of government-issued and taxpayer-funded mobile devices for personal purposes."
Aside from Boycott Trump, hundreds of employees downloaded social media apps to their government phones. The list includes Facebook (466 phones), Twitter (310 phones), Instagram (162 phones), and Reddit (20 phones).
One employee downloaded the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, while another preferred OK Cupid.
Other employees used their phones for personal banking and finance, and many had gaming apps installed.
Fourteen employees had Angry Birds, while 32 had Candy Crush installed. Others played Blackjack or used the sports betting app Draft Kings. Fifteen employees used HBO, while 73 had Netflix downloaded.
Seven employees had Pokémon GO installed on their government phones.
"Based on the EPA's list of approved ‘Terms of Service' agreements, it appears that most of these applications were never authorized for work-related business," Cause of Action said. "To the extent they were used for personal purposes, the EPA should take its workforce to task for abusing the privilege of a government-furnished and taxpayer-funded phone."
"Simply stated, the EPA does not exist so its bureaucrats can spend the day watching Netflix, browsing eBay, or swiping right on a dating application," the group said.
Fire 50% of the EPA employees. Obviously, they don’t have enough work to do.
As a member of the DoD, both active duty and civil service, there were heavy penalties for ANY unauthorized use of electronic information technology. Computers, phones, cameras, all the stuff we used was heavily tracked and monitored, and I have heard of several high level people being “escorted” out of the DoD building for such activities. It is also part of our polygraph examination for security clearances.
All these other agencies, such as the National Institute for Health and the CDC, get away with things that would destroy our careers in one millisecond.
>>”Simply stated, the EPA does not exist so its bureaucrats can spend the day watching Netflix, browsing eBay, or swiping right on a dating application,” the group said.
<<
WRONG!
Those are the ONLY reason it exists. Along with 90% of the rest of the federal deep state bureaucracy.
‘Amazing’, no?
More ‘laws are thee, not for me’...The HOOPS one had to jump through to work in a company w/ DoD contracts, and here, GOVT itself breaks a *ton* of ‘em.
Why is the network/firewall even ALLOWING browsing to the Play Store, let alone to a host of any number of other sites??
Is the Awan (sp?) clan STILL doing IT work in D.C.?? /semi-s
Well DUH.....I just can’t believe bureaucrats would do that!!!...../sarc
Was not a problem for H-Rotten-C to destroy a gov’t phone ....
Should destroy theirs as well!
fire them all.
I sat for three years at a DoD organization, and one of my side-jobs was the phone services guy, and the cellphone monitor. I wasted probably two hours every month reviewing the unit phone bill...going over excessive calls...and arranging for the ‘right’ people to get cellphones. Everyone knew the blunt truth that if you really screwed up....it meant disciplinary action, and maybe cash coming out of your pocket. So you just didn’t see too many stupid people displaying bad behavior. If you applied that at regular organizations, you’d see things change overnight.
Looking for a positive here. When they are busy watching netflix or playing candy crush, thats time they aren’t ruining our lives with bureaucracy.
My brother-in-law works for a very large bank. They strictly monitor and control what apps he can and can’t download on a company phone.
Clearly that’s not hard to do. This is inexcusable.
I think many of them swipe both ways. If you catch my drift...
SEDITION.................................
The rule of thumbs for DoD are “no cost to the government” and “no porn.” The internet connection already exists, so quick checks of personal email, banking, listening to streaming music while you work, even checking FR are OK.
We are expetced to be an adult and get our jobs done, and don’t abuse the connection by lengthy shopping binges, trading stocks, watching movies, playing games, etc...
I have long said that anybody who receives a taxpayer funded pay check through a Federal office or agency should be fully subject to the very same UCMJ that our troops are subject to. That includes members of Congress and their staffers. No exceptions.
not prosecuted....... executed
namby pamby mollycoddling is not preventative
I like how you think!
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