Spyware Created for Parents to Identify if their Children are Gay

Spyware to identify gay children?

In the 21st century, there is very little out there any more that genuinely shocks me. The news today is so wide and prevalent that society has become desensitized to most things that were once considered, at the very least, disquieting.

Today, it would seem is, therefore, an exception to the rule as it has come to my attention that a company offered parents spyware to install on their children’s computer with a specific advertised agenda of discovering if their children were gay.

Now, parents spying on their children isn’t some new concept. Be it checking their phone or under the mattress for a well-thumbed copy of Razzle. Rarely, however, does it get more malicious than that. In fact, rather ironically, a company which offered spyware security to parents (specifically for mobile phone monitoring) was blackmailed by a hacking group.

Some security companies would seem to think, however, that checking on your children’s activity should go beyond what any one with half a mind would consider normal.

How is this even legal?

Well, put simply it isn’t, but the French company that offered it, Fireworld, didn’t bother themselves with that technicality. Just to be clear, it is, largely speaking, illegal to deliberately install Spyware on someone else’s property. Particularly with the specific intent of monitoring their activity.

The BBC reports that the company, Fireworld, had an article on their website (since removed) said: “family is fundamental. That’s why the sexual orientation of your children, directly responsible for the continuation of your family, is very important to you”.

The services they offered parents in this spyware included:

• Monitoring of Facebook messages.
• Logging of searches.
• Websites Visited.
• Specific emphasis or checks on a ‘parent’ nominated keyword.

The spyware offered a very specific ‘service’ to specifically monitor any visits to ‘gay forums’ or other homosexual content.

Considering Amnesty international recently offered the general public a free anti-spyware program, this most recent news couldn’t be of a greater contrast.

To clarify a point, I should highlight that the spyware only seemed to concern itself towards if parents sons were homosexual. Lesbian daughters, generally not being the traditional bearer of the family lineage, do not matter so much apparently.

This is disgusting!

Since the revelation, Fireworld has not denied the claims. They have, however, suggested that the information was intended more towards ‘search engine optimisation’. In other words, they’re saying they wrote it to specifically find parents looking for spyware of this type. A Pretty flimsy excuse if you ask me.

Now, of course, for all parents, there is a curiosity about what the sexual persuasion of your children will be. Generally speaking those, most of us do not honestly care, it’s generally simply curiosity. To do to the depths, however, to literally spy on your children to find out if they are gay or not is frankly abhorrent.

I should highlight as well, hypothetically speaking, what are parents supposed to do if they find this information out using this spyware? Disown the child? Send them to a camp to ‘pray the gay away’?

I can only hope that Fireworld suffers a quick, costly and embarrassing collapse as a company. They deserve nothing less.