The plaintiff, Steese, Evans and Frankel filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking for detailed information on 24 SEC employees and seven contractors.
U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello said in his ruling Dec. 7 that the firm's request "would be a clearly unwarranted invasion" under an FOIA exemption that prohibits disclosure of private personnel and medical information.
The SEC argued that the complaint filed by the firm for more information sought materials never requested under the original FOIA, including the SEC offices in which the employees worked, the amount of time the employees spent looking at pornographic websites, and the names of the contractors companies whose employees were involved.
The judge said that a great deal of information has already been released and disclosed to the public through the Washington Times and that "the sexual nature of the misconduct reinforces the need to protect the privacy interests of these individuals."
One employee said that if his identity was revealed, he would be subject to “severe personal and professional harm including embarrassment and disgrace, possible loss of my current job [and] future employment opportunities' and certain, immediate and severe harm to his family," the ruling stated.