Mike Johnson and his son's use of app to monitor each other’s porn intake sparks questions

Newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a recently surfaced video from 2022 shared how he and his 17-year-old son, Jack, hold each other accountable when it comes to their porn intake by using a third-party software called Covenant Eye to patrol all of their electronic devices. The app creates a monthly habit report for a designated "accountability partner," according to The New Republic. "What it does, real simply, is it has an algorithm and a software—it’s way above my head how it works, but—it scans, you obviously opt into it, but it scans all the activity on your phone or your devices, your laptop, what have you. We do all of it. Then it sends a report to your accountability partner,” Johnson said in the clip. “My accountability partner right now is Jack, my son. He’s 17. So he and I get a report about all the things that are on our phones, all of our devices, once a week. If anything objectionable comes up, your accountability partner gets an immediate notice,” he added. “I’m proud to tell ya, my son has got a clean slate,”

Some Twitter/X users raised security concerns over the House speaker's use of the app. "A US Congressman is allowing a 3rd Party tech company to scan ALL of his electronic devices daily and then uploading reports to his son about what he's watching or not watching....  I mean, who else is accessing that data?" one user questioned. "'Covenant Eyes' – a third party software monitoring all your devices, Mike Johnson? – WTAF?! With any public office holder, but particularly someone who's second in line to the Presidency, this is a profound national security risk," another user wrote.