成人抖阴

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Digital monitoring company Gaggle says it will no longer flag students who use words like 鈥済ay鈥� and 鈥渓esbian鈥� in school assignments and chat messages, a significant policy shift that follows accusations its software facilitated discrimination of LGBTQ teens in a quest to keep them safe.

A spokesperson for the company, which describes itself , cited a societal shift toward greater acceptance of LGBTQ youth 鈥� rather than criticism of its product 鈥� as the impetus for the change as part of a 鈥渃ontinuous evaluation and updating process.鈥�

The company, which uses artificial intelligence and human content moderators to sift through billions of student communications each year, has long defended its use of LGBTQ-specific keywords to identify students who might hurt themselves or others. In arguing the targeted monitoring is necessary to save lives, executives have pointed to the prevalence of bullying against LGBTQ youth and data indicating they鈥檙e than their straight and cisgender classmates. 

But in practice, Gaggle鈥檚 critics argued, the keywords put LGBTQ students at a heightened risk of scrutiny by school officials and, on some occasions, the police. Nearly a third of LGBTQ students said they or someone they know experienced nonconsensual disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity 鈥� often called outing 鈥� as a result of digital activity monitoring, according to released in August by the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology. The survey encompassed the impacts of multiple monitoring companies who contract with school districts, such as GoGuardian, Gaggle, Securly and Bark. 

Gaggle鈥檚 decision to remove several LGBTQ-specific keywords, including 鈥渜ueer鈥� and 鈥渂isexual,鈥� from its dictionary of words that trigger alerts was first reported in . It follows extensive reporting by 成人抖阴 into the company鈥檚 business practices and sometimes negative effects on students who are caught in its surveillance dragnet. 

Though Gaggle鈥檚 software is generally limited to monitoring school-issued accounts, including those by Google and Microsoft, the it can scan through photos on students鈥� personal cell phones if they plug them into district laptops.

The keyword shift comes at a particularly perilous moment, as Republican lawmakers in multiple states . Legislation has looked to curtail classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity, ban books and classroom curricula featuring LGBTQ themes and prohibit transgender students from receiving gender-affirming health care, participating in school athletics and using restroom facilities that match their gender identities. Such a hostile political climate and pandemic-era disruptions, a recent youth survey by The Trevor Project revealed, has contributed to an uptick in LGBTQ youth who have seriously considered suicide. 

The U.S. Education Department received 453 discrimination complaints involving students鈥� sexual orientation or gender identity last year, according to data provided to 成人抖阴 by its civil rights office. That鈥檚 a significant increase from previous years, including in 2021 when federal officials received 249 such complaints. The Trump administration took and complaints dwindled. In 2018, the Education Department received just 57 complaints related to sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination.

The increase in discrimination allegations involving sexual orientation or gender identity are part of , according to data obtained by The New York Times. The total number of complaints for 2021-22 grew to 19,000, a historic high and more than double the previous year. 

In September, 成人抖阴 revealed that Gaggle had donated $25,000 to The Trevor Project, the nonprofit that released the recent youth survey and whose advocacy is focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth. The arrangement was framed on Gaggle鈥檚 website as a collaboration to 鈥渋mprove mental health outcomes for LGBTQ young people.鈥� 

The revelation was met with swift backlash on social media, with multiple Trevor Project supporters threatening to halt future donations. Within hours, the group announced it had returned the donation, acknowledging concerns about Gaggle 鈥渉aving a role in negatively impacting LGBTQ students.鈥� 

The Trevor Project didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment on Gaggle鈥檚 decision to pull certain LGBTQ-specific keywords from its systems. 

In a statement to 成人抖阴, Gaggle spokesperson Paget Hetherington said the company regularly modifies the keywords its software uses to trigger a human review of students鈥� digital communications. Certain LGBTQ-specific words, she said, are no longer relevant to the 24-year-old company鈥檚 efforts to protect students from abuse and were purged late last year.

鈥淎t points in time in the not-too-distant past, those words were weaponized by bullies to harass and target members of the LGBTQ+ community, so as part of an effective methodology to combat that discriminatory harassment and violence, those words were once effective tools to help identify dangerous situations,鈥� Hetherington said. 鈥淭hankfully, over the past two decades, our society evolved and began a period of widespread acceptance, especially among the K-12 student population that Gaggle serves. With that evolution and acceptance, it has become increasingly rare to see those words used in the negative, harassing context they once were; hence, our decision to take these off our word/phrases list.鈥�

Hetherington said Gaggle will continue to monitor students鈥� use of the words 鈥渇aggot,鈥� 鈥渓esbo,鈥� and others that are 鈥渃ommonly used as slurs.鈥� A previous review by 成人抖阴 found that Gaggle regularly flagged students for harmless speech, like profanity in fictional articles submitted to a school鈥檚 literary magazine, and students鈥� private journals. 

Anti-LGBTQ activists have , and privacy advocates warn that in the era of 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� laws and abortion bans, information gleaned from Gaggle and similar services could be weaponized against students.

Gaggle executives have minimized privacy concerns and claim the tool saved more than 1,400 lives last school year. That statistic hasn鈥檛 been independently verified and there鈥檚 a dearth of research to suggest digital monitoring is an effective school-safety tool. A recent survey found a majority of parents and teachers believe the benefits of student monitoring outweigh privacy concerns. The Vice News documentary included the perspective of a high school student who was flagged by Gaggle for writing a paper titled 鈥淓ssay on the Reasons Why I Want to Kill Myself but Can鈥檛/Didn鈥檛.鈥� Adults wouldn鈥檛 have known she was struggling without Gaggle, she said. 

鈥淚 do think that it鈥檚 helpful in some ways,鈥� the student said, 鈥渂ut I also kind of think that it鈥檚 鈥� I wouldn鈥檛 say an invasion of privacy 鈥� but if obviously something gets flagged and a person who it wasn鈥檛 intended for reads through that, I think that鈥檚 kind of uncomfortable.鈥� 

Student surveillance critic Evan Greer, director of the nonprofit digital rights group said the tweaks to Gaggle鈥檚 keyword dictionary are unlikely to have a significant effect on LGBTQ teens and blasted the company鈥檚 stated justification for the move as being 鈥渙ut of touch鈥� with the state of anti-LGBTQ harassment in schools. Meanwhile, Greer said that LGBTQ youth frequently refer to each other using 鈥渞eclaimed slurs,鈥� reappropriating words that are generally considered derogatory and remain in Gaggle鈥檚 dictionary. 

鈥淭his is just like lipstick on a pig 鈥� no offense to pigs 鈥� but I don鈥檛 see how this actually in any meaningful way mitigates the potential for this software to nonconsensually out LGBTQ students to administrators,鈥� Greer said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how it prevents the software from being used to invade the privacy of students in a wide range of other circumstances.鈥�

Gaggle and its competitors 鈥� including , and 鈥� have faced similar scrutiny in Washington. In April, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey argued in a report that the tools could be misused to discipline students and warned they could be used disproportionately against students of color and LGBTQ youth. 

In , Gaggle founder and CEO Jeff Patterson said the company cannot test the potential for bias in its system because the software flags student communications anonymously and the company has 鈥渘o context or background on students,鈥� including their race or sexual orientation. They also said their monitoring services are not meant to be used as a disciplinary tool. 

In the survey released last summer by the Center for Democracy and Technology, however, 78% of teachers reported that digital monitoring tools were used to discipline students. Black and Hispanic students reported being far more likely than white students to get into trouble because of online monitoring. 

In October, the White House cautioned school districts against the 鈥渃ontinuous surveillance鈥� of students if monitoring tools are likely to trample students鈥� rights. It also directed the Education Department to issue guidance to districts on the safe use of artificial intelligence. The guidance is expected to be released early this year.

As an increasing number of districts implement Gaggle for bullying prevention efforts, surveillance critic Greer said the company has failed to consider how adults can cause harm.

鈥淭here is now a very visible far-right movement attacking LGBTQ kids, and particularly trans kids and teenagers,鈥� Greer said. 鈥淚f anything, queer kids are more in the crosshairs today than they were a year ago or two years ago 鈥� and that鈥檚 why this surveillance is so dangerous.鈥�

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For LGBTQ mental health support, contact The Trevor Project鈥檚 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386.

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