Wired Exposes Surveillance Apps Marketed as Religious 'Porn Filters'

Wired Exposes Surveillance Apps Marketed as Religious 'Porn Filters'

OWOSSO, Mich. — Wired magazine has published an in-depth report about the secretive world of surveillance apps marketed as “porn filters” to churchgoers across America by faith-based corporations.

Penned by Wired’s Security section reporter Dhruv Mehrotra, the piece focuses on Michigan-based niche software company Covenant Eyes.

As XBIZ reported three years ago, Covenant Eyes is the brainchild of religious activist Ron DeHaas. The startup offers what it calls “accountability software” from a small office in Owosso, Michigan, somewhere in the economically ravaged expanse between Flint and Lansing.

Fast-forward to 2022 and, as Wired reported today, Covenant Eyes is now “part of a multimillion-dollar ecosystem of so-called accountability apps that are marketed to both churches and parents as tools to police online activity. For a monthly fee, some of these apps monitor everything their users see and do on their devices, even taking screenshots (at least one per minute, in the case of Covenant Eyes) and eavesdropping on web traffic.”

These church-endorsed and -marketed apps, Mehrotra wrote, “then report a feed of all of the users’ online activity directly to a chaperone — an ‘accountability partner,’ in the apps’ parlance.”

After Wired presented its findings to Google, the article reports, the search giant “determined that two of the top accountability apps — Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You — violate its policies.”

A Faith-Based Product Unable to Catch a Religious Predator

As XBIZ reported, the Arkansas trial of ex-reality TV personality Josh Duggar, former director of the lobbying arm of the religiously motivated anti-porn Family Research Council, exposed the failure of for-profit, religiously inspired "porn filter" Covenant Eyes.

Duggar was sentenced in May to 12 years in prison for downloading child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The sentencing memo, by Assistant U.S. Atty. Dustin Roberts, described Duggar — who actively campaigned against legal, consensual, adult pornography for the well-funded Family Research Council lobby — as having “a deep-seated, pervasive and violent sexual interest in children.”

Last year, People magazine reported that federal investigators found that Covenant Eyes had been installed on Duggar's computer so that it could monitor and report his internet use to his wife, Anna.

"According to Covenant Eyes' website," People noted, "the program is an 'accountability software' that is meant to protect users from objectionable content and help monitor the screen activity of those with porn addictions. The software 'periodically captures screenshots,' which are then analyzed by artificial intelligence and sent to a trusted 'ally' who can hold the user accountable for their internet usage."

During a May 2021 detention hearing, however, an investigator reported that "Covenant Eyes was unable to detect Duggar's internet usage after a password-protected network was installed on his computer."

Spyware + Churches = 'Shameware'

Today's Wired article reported the story of Hao-Wei Lin, a former member of evangelical Southern Baptist church Gracepoint. “Within a month of installing the app,” Mehrotra wrote, “he started receiving accusatory emails from his church leader referencing things he had viewed online. ‘Anything you need to tell me?’ reads one email Hao-Wei Lin shared with Wired. Attached to the email was a report from Covenant Eyes that detailed every single piece of digital content Hao-Wei Lin had consumed the prior week.”

The Gracepoint church leader “zeroed in on a single piece of content that Covenant Eyes had flagged as ‘Mature’: Hao-Wei Lin had searched ‘#Gay’ on a website called Statigr.am, and the app had flagged it.”

“I wouldn’t quite call it spyware,” another former member of Gracepoint told Wired. “It’s more like ‘shameware,’ and it’s just another way the church controls you.”

To read “The Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn ‘Shameware’ Apps,” visit Wired.com.

Copyright © 2024 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

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eremote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eremote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

MyAdultAttorney's Corey D. Silverstein to Hold Post-Election Legal Impact Webinar

Industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein will hold a “Legal Impact” webinar titled “We Have a New U.S. President: Legal and Community Implications” on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. PST.

Pornhub Shuts Down Access in Oklahoma Over Age Verification

Aylo began geo-blocking Pornhub across Oklahoma on Tuesday, three days in advance of the state’s new age verification law, SB 1959, taking effect.

Show More