Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Do you want a smartphone with a tracking device? Why or why not?
- Why do you think there are smartphones that have a tracking device?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- liberty /LIB-er-tee/
- data /DEY-tuh/
- freedom /FREE-duhm/
- united /yoo-NAHY-tid/
- state /STEYT/
[noun] – the freedom to live as you wish or go where you want
We need liberty in our decisions.
[noun] – information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered and used to help decision-making, or information in an electronic form that can be stored and used by a computer
I stored the data on the computer.
[noun] – the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited
We need the freedom to move easily in this world.
[adjective] – joined together as a group
If we are united, we stand.
[noun] – a part of a large country with its own government, such as in Germany, Australia, or the US
New York is one of the most prosperous states in America.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
New documents found by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used mobile location data to track people’s movements on a much larger scale than was known before. It is not a secret that the U.S. has been getting and using data from Americans’ smartphones about where they are. Early in 2020, a report in a journal said that both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had bought access to the location data of millions of smartphone users in order to find undocumented immigrants and people who might be avoiding paying taxes.
But new documents that the ACLU got through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case show how much data was collected. The more than 6,000 records that the rights group looked at had about 336,000 location points from people’s phones all over North America. They also show that CBP got records for around 113,654 location points in the southwestern United States in just three days in 2018. That’s more than 26 location points per minute. Most of the information that CBP got from its contract with Venntel, a location data seller that collects and sells information that is secretly taken from smartphone apps, came from that contract.
But new documents that the ACLU got through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case show how much data was collected. The more than 6,000 records that the rights group looked at had about 336,000 location points from people’s phones all over North America. They also show that CBP got records for around 113,654 location points in the southwestern United States in just three days in 2018. That’s more than 26 location points per minute. Most of the information that CBP got from its contract with Venntel, a location data seller that collects and sells information that is secretly taken from smartphone apps, came from that contract.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- What are the two organizations that have access to the location data of millions of smartphone users?
- What department used mobile location data to track people’s movements?
- Why do the two organizations that have access to the location data of millions of smartphone users want the said location data?
- What organization is the location data seller that collects and sells secret smartphone information?
- What does “ACLU” stand for?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- What are the things that you can do using your smartphone?
- What are the things that you do not like about your smartphone?
- If you are a prime minister, would you track your people’s smartphones? Why or why not?
- Do you think it is okay to track people’s smartphones
- How can you tell people the pros and cons of a tracking system?