Porn Filter Implicates Florida Fire Chief

TAMPA, Fla. — Fire rescue captain Todd Burkhardt was looking for sports scores and shopping for furniture. But the county has tagged his web surfing as pornographic.

Burkhardt told the Tampa Tribune in a recent article that he and scores of others were subjected to an investigation of their Internet usage after local officials responded to an anonymous tip that firefighters were accessing pornographic material using county computers.

Burkhardt was intrigued by U.S. Olympian Tyson Gay's efforts at the gold. He also was shopping for home furnishing at Badcock Home Furniture.

The seemingly innocent web surfing using Hillsborough County's Internet access during his downtime at the fire station has forced him to explain his online practices to his family, community and the firefighters' union. "I didn't do anything wrong," Burkhardt said. "It really strained my marriage."

Hillsborough County's Information Technology Director Roger Dean searched the county's computer network files for suspicious file names. Dean discovered nearly 3,000 file names that raised red flags as well as eyebrows.

The resulting list was given to local television station WTSP, which posted it on its website. The list was published alongside an article titled "Firefighters Busted Looking at Porn." The list was removed after a critique of the methods used in the analysis of the investigation.

Other firefighters also were scrutinized. Capt. Doug Shirley, a fire department chaplain who allegedly accessed porn by visiting pictures of a local event called the "Sun 'n Fun Fly-In," said "the whole thing was completely inflammatory."

"You're lumped in with everybody who did do it," he said. "All you can do is say, 'I didn't do this,' and how this can occur, and you're wondering if they think, 'He doth protest too much.'"

Institutions often deploy web filters to screen for adult content. The filters, however, have often produced questionable and sometimes puzzling results.

"It's impossible to tell whether the firefighters were looking at truly pornographic sites without looking at the logs of the sites they accessed," PeaceFire.org's Bennett Haselton told XBIZ.

"Just because a program blocks something as pornographic, that emphatically does not mean that it actually is pornographic," Haselton added. FortiNet, a popular web-filtering program has labeled seemingly innocuous sites as pornographic. Blocked sites include the Brooklyn-based church Dabar Worship Center, the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union and the Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra.

As of publication, Hillsborough County officials continue to investigate the claims of adult content on county computers.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

Jerkmate has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

FSC Launches Age Verification Toolkit for Adult Websites

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has launched a comprehensive toolkit to help adult websites navigate age verification laws.

Romero Mr. Alien to Present XBIZ Talk at Amsterdam Conference

XBIZ is pleased to announce that noted producer/director Romero Mr. Alien, the impresario of the XMAs award-winning studio Hentaied, will present an exclusive talk at next month’s Amsterdam conference.

New Fansly Analytics Platform 'SlyKiwi' Launches

SlyKiwi, a new analytics platform exclusively designed for Fansly content, has officially launched.

FPNCash Appoints Kimi Evans Head of Business Development

FPNCash has appointed Kimi Evans as its new head of business development.

Show More