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Mike Johnson said that he and his teenage son used software to track each other’s online activities, which has ignited debates on privacy and the new speaker of the House's ultraconservative worldviews.
In a recently resurfaced clip from last year, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, admitted that he and his son use technology to track each other's porn habits.
The Republican Louisiana congressman disclosed that he and his son employ Covenant Eyes software to monitor each other’s internet usage for explicit content. This revelation came from a clip from a 2022 forum at the Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, La. During the forum, Johnson explained the purpose and function of the software.
“Covenant Eyes is the software that we’ve been using a long time in our household,” he said.
Johnson said he learned about it “at a Promise Keepers event in the early 2000s,” describing it as “the largest accountability software that there is.”
He endorsed the software to the audience, noting, “It’s about $15 a month, $16 a month, something like that. And you get up to 10 devices.” He elaborated on its functionality, saying, “It’s accountability software. … It scans — you obviously opt into it — but it scans all the activity on your phone or your devices, your laptop, tablet, what have you. We do all of it.”
He shared that “it sends a report to your accountability partner,” and in his case, “My accountability partner right now is Jack, my son, and so he’s 17.” Johnson proudly reported that his son has “got a clean slate” but detailed that the software is very sensitive: “It’ll pick up almost anything. It looks for keywords, search terms, and also images.”
An unearthed clip shows Mike Johnson promoting an app called \u201cCovenant Eyes\u201d which \u201cscans your devices\u201d and \u201csends a report\u201d to someone if you view \u201csinful\u201d material. The app says \u201cdefeat porn.\u201d\n\nHe has been scrubbing this from his pages. (@receiptmaven)— (@)
The sharing of this personal strategy for dealing has been met with a variety of reactions. On X, formerly Twitter, a user expressed concern and disbelief: “Can we stop talking about the NYT poll and start talking about how Mike Johnson had a porn addiction accountability app on his phone that would send him reports about every one of his son’s devices … and vice versa?”
Johnson’s approach has raised eyebrows due to privacy concerns and the implications of involving a minor in such a manner. Brandon Wolf from the Human Rights Campaign remarked on the unusual nature of a father and son sharing such sensitive reports: “So…should he look at something ‘objectionable,’ his 17yo son immediately sees it too??”
Writer and activist Charlotte Clymer took note of the religious aspect of Johnson's comments. She wrote on Substack, "The issue is the weird deployment of church "accountability culture" to explain away a very inappropriate relationship dynamic between a parent and their child."
She added, "It's not the responsibility of a teenager to ever hold their parent accountable on anything, much less anything having to do with sex."
Rolling Stonenotes that the social media account that unearthed the clip, Receipt Maven, questions if the technology has compromised Johnson's devices and also if he's still using it.
"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....," Receipt Maven wrote on X. "I mean, who else is accessing that data?"
As these revelations come to light, they do not stand alone in defining Johnson’s public image. His past as a key architect in the failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election results further complicates his reputation. Combined with his staunchly conservative views on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and women’s reproductive health, he paints the picture of a public figure whose personal and political actions are inextricably linked.
Johnson’s alignment with his faith and its influence on his political stance is unequivocal.
“I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today — in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’” Johnson recently told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.’”
