TheTrevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support to LGBTQ-plus youth, will cut ties with Gaggle after the partnership sparked backlash from activists
According to a report from The 74, Gaggle was listed on the organization's website as a "corporate partner" in May and took a $25,000 donation. There are multiple areas on Gaggle's website where TheTrevorProject is listed as a resource for LGBTQ students.
Gaggle makes and markets software that purports to review students' online behavior in school-issued accounts and use machine learning technology to flag "concerning content" for their districts. Email subject lines and Attachments, as well as messages and discussion posts in Canvas, can be monitored by Gaggle's products.
Concerns have been raised about Gaggle's ability to flag certain words. The software was accused of labeling words related to sexual orientation as harmful.
Gaggle told The 74 that it sees the partnership as a learning opportunity.
We want to work with schools and institutions to make sure they support the mental health of the LGBTQ youth.
The backlash was swift when The 74 reported. The partnership was denounced by a lot of users on the social networking site.
The director of Fight for the Future called on the organization to return the donation, remove Gaggle from their website, and apologize after the report was published.
In states like Texas, law enforcement can easily direct a school district to use Gaggle to monitor student communications for LGBTQ+ or trans related content and then use that to investigate and prosecute families who are just trying to love their kids. Don't do worse,TrevorProject.
After the backlash began, The Trevor Project decided to return its donation and end its engagement with Gaggle.
Having a seat at the table allows us to positively influence how companies engage with LGBTQ young people, and we initially agreed to work with Gaggle because we saw an opportunity to have a meaningful impact. We want to work with schools and institutions to make sure they are supporting the mental health of the young people.
Jackson Budinger referred The Verge to the organization's account. Budinger said that the project didn't use Gaggle's software.
Privacy advocates have been upset with Gaggle and its competitors recently. In the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting, The Dallas Morning News reported that it was contracted with the district to monitor.
Gaggle was one of four companies that Massachusetts senators wrote an open letter about this summer. As abortion bans and restrictions sweep across the country, we are concerned that your products may be used to criminalize or punish students.
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