Employees have been streaming so much media through state-assigned computers during work hours that Hawaii’s state government has blocked services like NetFlix and Hulu.

Todd Nacapuy, the chief information officer, issued a memo Tuesday to CIOs and IT staff for the executive, legislative and judicial branches, stating that the excessive streaming was “monopolizing a significant portion” of the state’s available bandwidth.

“The state has finite IT resources, and increasing these resources requires an investment, said Nacapuy, who added that using bandwidth for non-state purposes “affects our collective performance” of state business.

Under Department of Human Resources Development policy, use of the Internet for downloading audio, video and picture files “is strictly prohibited” unless it’s work-related.

If someone is caught doing otherwise, DHRD Director James Nishimoto advised in an Aug. 7 memo to other departments heads and deputy directors, it could result in curtailing and revocation of computer usage, disciplinary action that could include firing, and civil and/or criminal liability.

YouTube and non-paid Adobe Flash media will remain accessible, presuming they are used for communication and educational purposes.