Bark Technologies—Bark school surveillance software criticized for outing LGBTQ+ students and chilling mental health help-seeking
Bark Technologies monitors 3,400+ schools, assigning mental health 'risk scores' to students based on their communications. Research found 44% of schools report students contacted by police due to monitoring. GoGuardian (similar tool) flags LGBTQ+ resources and counseling sites. A trans student was reported to officials for a writing assignment about past therapy. Students report self-censoring and avoiding online mental health resources due to surveillance. Academic research found 'universal mental health screening does not improve clinical or academic outcomes and has harmful effects.'
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| LGBTQ+ Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| User Privacy | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.963 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.73)
Evidence (3 signals)
Center for Democracy and Technology documented mental health risks of school surveillance software
CDT research found school monitoring tools like Bark cause students to self-censor, avoid mental health resources, and lead to LGBTQ+ student outing and police contact.
ACLU senior policy counsel found no evidence Bark's school surveillance prevents shootings
Chad Marlow, ACLU senior policy counsel who authored a report on education surveillance programs, stated 'there's no way to prove that these technologies work.' Center for Democracy & Technology's Elizabeth Laird similarly noted 'a tremendous lack of evidence that these tools do what they say they do.'
Senate Democrats report found Bark misused surveillance technology in schools
Report commissioned by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Edward J. Markey found that Bark Technologies, along with Gaggle.net, GoGuardian and Securly Inc., misused surveillance technology while monitoring students. Research showed Black students disproportionately affected by monitoring that leads to disciplinary action.