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.

Imagine needing spying accountability software to not watch gay porn. These weird homophobes really are the gayest of them all.

I grew up in the far right evangelical Christian church and watching people's horror when they hear little tidbits about how fucked up it is always entertaining to me. I know a bunch of people who use the same software on their computers.

this shit is so fucking creepy and insane. if literal receipts about the porn i look at came up in a family conversation for any reason whatsoever my brain would melt and explode. how are these freaks so outwardly successful but behind closed doors they're spying on their son's porn viewing??

how does this motherfucker do speaking tours with these blood curdling weird christians and become like the 4th most powerful person in government? why do we keep respecting people who can't even jerk off like an adult? we used to be a proper country! we used to do rebellions!

he doesn't even have any particular juice or charisma! he's just white and clean shaven and wears a button down! give him the fucking keys to congress! jesus fucking christ

Does he so desperately want to look at porn that he needs this? How about will power?

Who the fuck are these people.

All the fucking cybersecurity bullshit I gotta go to as a network admin for a federal contractor and the baddies can just have some tech illiterate federal representative install whatever back doors they want on their personal computers under the guise of morality or whatever.

Wait, this dude is such a deviant he needs to install software on his own devices to keep him away from porn?

Let me guess, his wife once found gay porn on his computer, and he said he didn't know anything about it and did the typical conservative "doth protest too much" thing and decided that paying for a porn filter would give him cover to keep looking at porn?

Do these people really think they are fooling anyone?

Former fundie here. Y'all are probably misinterpreting what is going on.

Mike Johnson is a True Believer™ from what I've seen. Doesn't mean he's not a terrible person, but his motives and actions aren't necessarily as simple as repressed urges to view gay porn.

The most likely explanation is that Mike Johnson's son was watching porn and got caught, probably more than once. He probably admitted his guilt early on, but he attempted to hide the activity. So, not only do you have the kid for sexual immorality but you've got him for dishonesty. After hours of lectures at the boy - involving his mother, father, possibly clergy or youth leadership - the poor kid is probably swearing on a stack of bibles that he sees the light and will never do it again. That's not good enough. He can't be trusted as this isn't the first time.

This passage was probably pounded in bone deep:

Matthew 5:

27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

So, the boy should rip out his own eyes and cut off the hand he jacks off with. Maybe he should castrate himself. If the behavior continues, he's willfully hellbound. Doesn't he understand?

So, Mike Johnson, wonderful paragon of fatherly leadership, says they will both install this software. That way he can prove what a good person he is and bear the cross of his son's sin. See how great he is? He's helping the boy with his problem. Barf.

So, now the kid's 'sin' is making national news and impacting his father who is a Great Man™.

Christian guilt in a nutshell.

I really feel for the poor bastard. Hopefully he makes it out from under the shadow of his father's insanity. It's truly evil shit.

So God is a supernatural, omniscient, all-seeing entity that can speak directly into your mind, but you still need to pay a company $20/month to snoop on your devices for "accountability" so that you don't look at all that very tempting gay porn on the internet.

Ok...

This dude is super creepy and I hate he's in congress, much less the speaker, but does anyone feel like the other headline "monitors each others porn activities" purposely makes it seem like they're each reviewing the porn they each do look at and making sure isn't toooo skeevy? Like it's weird enough, do you have to push it?

Made me picture them high fiving each other the next day, "yeah buddy! I saw that one, too. Nice."

It's one thing if you want to subject your personal/private online life to a sort of virtual panopticon, but if you want to also look at classified material while also letting your morality cops peep over your shoulder, that should be disqualifying. Under no circumstance should a device with spyware on it have access to anything like classified material

If Mike Johnson puts that spyware on his work computer.. .

If you need to buy a 200usd/year service to make sure you don't look at gay porn you are definitely not gay

don't believe government devices will let him install that crap. may be wrong but I've read they lock them down pretty tight. his own stuff is his problem

This whole thing is just creepy as hell. This guy has some serious and disturbing psychological issues.

And he's a fucking politician. People actually decided that they wanted him to represent them in government.

More all the time, I feel like I've somehow been trapped on an alien planet, surrounded by a bizarre race of inexplicably stupid lunatics.

Morty: That just sounds like incest circle jerking with extra steps.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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.

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.

Social media users raised concerns about whether Covenant Eyes having access to Johnson's data could "compromise" him.

Marty Taylor, the executive director of progressive PAC New Blue USA, wrote that Johnson "allows an outside Christian based surveillance company 'Covenant Eyes' to access his electronic devises and prepare a weekly report to make sure he is not viewing any 'objectionable' material.

Others echoed the sentiment, with one user writing that "with any public office holder, but particularly someone who's second in line to the Presidency, this is a profound national security risk."

Johnson, an evangelical Christian, has come under scrutiny since being elected to the speakership in October following weeks of infighting among House Republicans.

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National Security is COMMUNISM!