The Trevor Project Returns Donation, Breaks with Online Surveillance Firm

It didn't take long once the pushback began for The Trevor Project to back away from its partnership with surveillance firm Gaggle, which monitors students' online activity, and return a $25,000 donation.

Axios reported that The Trevor Project, which is dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, announced the end of its involvement with Gaggle only hours after news broke out about the partnership.

Critics pointed out that Gaggle's software could be used to identify LGBTQ+ students and then out them, Axios noted. "The Trevor Project responded on social media saying that its general philosophy is that 'having a seat at the table enables us to positively influence how companies engage with LGBTQ young people...'"

The Trevor Project said that it "had initially agreed to work with Gaggle because it 'saw an opportunity to have a meaningful impact to better protect LGBTQ students,'" Axios added.

"We hear and understand the concerns," The Trevor Project continued in its announcement, "and we hope to work alongside schools and institutions to ensure they are appropriately supporting LGBTQ youth and their mental health."

As previously reported, the anti-suicide organization had initially attempted to frame the partnership as a matter of helping to guide the ways in which such monitoring tools are used.

"It's true that LGBTQ+ youth are among the most vulnerable to the misuse of this kind of safety monitoring – many worry that these tools could out them to teachers or parents against their will," The Trevor Project acknowledged. "It is because of that very real concern that we have worked in a limited capacity with digital safety companies – to play an educational role and have a seat at the table so they can consider these potential risks while they design their products and develop policies."

But only hours after an article appeared on Sept. 30 on The 74, a site that, Wikipedia notes, "focuses on and supports school-choice issues," The Trevor Project announced the end of that relationship amidst a social media furor.

"We're disappointed that The Trevor Project has decided to pause our collaboration," Padget Hetherington, a spokesperson for Gaggle, said in a statement that The 74 quoted from in an update to its original story. "However, we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to learn and work with them and will continue with our mission of protecting all students regardless of how they identify."