this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
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Resurfaced comments in which new House Speaker Mike Johnson talked about how he and his son monitor each other's online activity using "accountability software" have raised questions about national security.

Johnson, a Republican who was first elected to Congress in 2016, spoke in 2022 about how he installed software called Covenant Eyes on his devices during a panel called "War on Technology" at Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, Louisiana, Rolling Stone reported.

According to a clip first posted on X, formerly Twitter, by a user called Receipt Maven, Johnson spoke about how the subscription-based service helps people abstain from internet porn and "objectionable" websites.

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[–] [email protected] 305 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I thought this was overblown at first glance but reading into it...

From Wikipedia:

Accountability software typically functions by continuously making screenshots of the user's mobile phone or computer screen and monitoring their internet traffic. It checks both for keywords (such as "gay" or "porn") and images associated with the behavior the software is intended to detect.

So like even if the Speaker is on a VPN securely viewing classified material, if it's on his phone or laptop, Covenant Eyes now has screenshots of it. That is very much a breech of national security if that is happening.

[–] [email protected] 178 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Holy balls, it costs almost as much as Netflix ($204/year) and all it does is spy on you?! I’m not an evil man but these idiots ask for this service. I wish I’d thought of it.

[–] [email protected] 85 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

it costs almost as much as Netflix ($204/year)

LMAO what?! My god, it could not be more obvious that every single anti-porn crusader out there has serious issues with self-control and project it onto the rest of society. And let's not even get into the fact that they have a ridiculously unhealthy understanding of human sexuality.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Casually browses fetish porn knowing that I’m not the only one while knowing I’m not in the majority.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Actually fetish porn is around because it's a billion dollar a year industry. You're not only not the only one enjoying it, you ARE in the majority of men who watch such things. And why not? It's there for that very purpose.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

ridiculously unhealthy

I would argue that they don't understand human sexuality. Point blank.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

This, they have been indoctrinated into "original sin" where everything is bad (especially most all sexuality outside of a male and female in a government-issued wedlock) and must be controlled, even if purely natural given by their "God".

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Sorry, $204/yr is not enough for me to keep tabs on someone else’s festishes. Especially not those of a Republican congressman.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Don't forget all the wonderful hush payments for not leaking certain screen shots and user information.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Sure, but MDM software is easy enough to make into a product that does this service on autopilot. And it sounds like the people moderating the content are the users themselves. Genius!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Go to a church and ask for volunteers to help--no, to fulfill their duty!--with this holy war against digital sin.

[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm sure there's no chance that a "Christian-based surveillance company" is mishandling the data they collect in insecure or nefarious ways.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Fun fact: Before starting his weird anti-porn spyware company the CEO of Covenant Eyes, Ronald DeHaas, worked as a geologist for Chevron in the 70s. In fact, he's still helping to destroy the planet by working as a consultant for the petroleum industry. He never actually stopped. So he's always been an unscrupulous P.O.S.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Why always get the gays involved? I swear, these people are obsessed with penises and projecting at this point.

I mean I'm a straight woman, I watched one video just because I was curious about the practicality of things and was too embarrassed to harass a gay friend about it.

But when I want to get horny now, it doesn't even cross my mind. Even though there was one scene with Nick Offerman that was really hot in The Last of Us.

So major projection from these people.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Some Christian men talk about “SSA” (same sex attraction) and their struggle to “resist the temptation”. As a non-repressed straight man, this is not something I’ve ever dealt with. I feel bad that these people are so indoctrinated and intimidated by their weird-ass culture that they can’t just relax and go grab a dick.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It’s because Christianity (and by nature, offshoots of it) was, and still is, a means of control.

Let’s not forget the roots of Christianity was from when it was a literal cult; you were considered a part of the Christian Cult if you practiced Christianity before iirc either Theodosius or Constantine became the Roman Emperor and made it into the state religion. Christmas was also stolen from Sol Invictus as a means to help bridge the transition into Christianity.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Not to mention the fact that America was founded by puritans who were kicked out of Britain for not being allowed to oppress everyone around them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Constantine. Allegedly had a vision/dream where he was told to put either a chi-rho or tau-rho symbol on his shields ahead of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, and after victory he converted, with the rest of the Roman Empire following his lead.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Not to mention yuletide cheer comes from Wicca.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's exactly what it is, a major projection of their own inner sexual turmoil. Whether they are closeted homosexuals or not, and really in the case of Mike Johnson I hope he isn't because I don't want him among us LGBTQ folks, they definitely are projecting some hugely enormous interest in the sex behaviors and genitalia of other dudes. As a gay man - I'm kind of in awe of their penchant for penis worship.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The thing is, being a closeted homosexual isn't even a binary thing. Everyone's sexuality is a little bit fluid. I seriously believe that most of these people are bothered by the fact that they don't find the male form completely repulsive, or by the idea that they may even have romance-adjacent feelings about another man without necessarily wanting to bottom for them.

These people aren't closeted, they are just repressed. It's like living among a group of people who insist that the color orange doesn't exist and shame anyone who says they can see it. Obviously everyone sees orange, and choosing to live with the cognitive dissonance of orangephobics is incredibly stressful.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I totally agree, everyone has the capacity for a spectrum of sexual feelings and/or behaviors, but some men never acknowledge that and keep their homo feelings way too oppressed. The concept of having to find men "completely repulsive" for example - what a terrible way to view humanity and have to go through life. They are definitely repressed by their own fears and the phobic society around them. But being gay I have found that it's so much easier and better than being in the closet, if others don't like it - that's their f#ckin problem.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Fear of bigger dicks, I think. The opposite is their obsession with BBCs with white women. Not a psychologist, arm-chair opinion.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

All this monitoring and over monitoring of what people are looking at online. Honestly if people aren't trolling for underage sex hookups or trying to encourage gross behaviors online, who the hell cares what people look at. Covenant Eyes - that name just says it all about the hypocrisy of religious zealotry. You can be happy! You can be free! Just do what the hell we tell you and don't you DARE look at anything we don't approve of, you born sinner and miserable wretch!!! WE'RE WATCHING YOU!!!!! Because Jesus would want us to.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

If it's high enough classification, he would not have access on his personal phone though.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The risk does not stop at the line of classification. Comms for example, anyone he texts or is texted to those screens are taken and stored off.

It is a risk to national security, period. It’s a fuckin social engineering jackpot for fucks sake.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If he is following proper protocols and procedures: Yes

If he were following proper protocol, he wouldn't willingly install spyware in the first place.

And unless he is VERY strictly separating his work and his personal devices, there is inevitable leakage. Even something as simple as getting too close to the line on "So I need to fly out to Nevada to check out these weather balloon things and make sure everything is fine" and so forth.

But also? All of this is publicly available information. At a high level, there are two kinds of classified material. Stuff that is classified by specific rules and are generally based on science and technology. And the other is "national security" and is more or less anything a bureaucrat thinks is important.

So the POTUS liking two shots of soy milk in his coffee is not classified because soy milk and coffee are not classified. But if it is decided that "terrorists" might attack the soy milk supply chain? Suddenly there is an argument that that information is sensitive.

And there are a LOT of arguments to be made regarding the Speaker of the House's personal ties and vulnerabilities becoming "sensitive".

And then you have people like trump who just give zero shits and are likely to take a picture of a document so they can show it to other people later.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Right, even if he had access to classified information in an unsecured space, the classified system would have its own encryption device and its own systems separate from the unclassified network.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's only part of it though. Another component is that anyone having access to his personal devices --let alone his porn habits-- potentially has compromising information on him. Once he's compromised, he's a national security threat, full stop.

What if he's having an affair and there's evidence of it on his phone? What if he's doing other shady shit that involves not having a bank account? You better believe the Russians and/or the CCP would love to have compromat on the Speaker.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sure, but there's probably already plenty of ways to compromise these idiots.