Study: 99 Percent of the Internet Wasted

As part of a protracted attempt to prove that the Web is merely a conduit for dirty pictures, the DOJ recently paid this guy to look at porn all day. The Justice Department wants to know just how many Web pages are smut-filled, and the magic number appears to be 1.1 percent. This kind of analysis only makes sense if you think the Internet is a dump truck or a landfill -- and perilously close to full. (Imagine what we could do with that extra 1.1. percent of Internet!)

The DOJ seems to think that these findings help the case for the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), and the Financial Times reports that the study "could add to pressure in the US for a fresh legal crackdown on online pornography." What porn percentage, we might ask, would the DOJ have found acceptable? Eleven years ago Time reported that the Web was basically one big orgy; 1.1 percent seems pretty tame.