European Commission bans TikTok on work phones and devices to enhance cybersecurity

Nick's ESL News Lessons

A printable worksheet for news-based English conversation classes.

Date: 2023/02/24

Difficulty: Advanced C1

PDF: European Commission bans TikTok on work phones and devices to enhance cybersecurity
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Vocabulary Match

allegations -   - business
corporate -   - basic
to exploit -   - accusations
fundamental -   - misunderstandings
misconceptions -   - to abuse

Article

The European Commission has ordered its employees to uninstall the TikTok app from their work and personal devices due to concerns over data security.

The ban is also intended to protect against cyber threats and attacks against the commission's corporate environment. The ban also extends to personal devices that have official apps installed.

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, has been accused of sharing users' data with the Chinese government. However, the social media platform denies the allegations, adding that the commission's decision was based on "fundamental misconceptions."

TikTok has become the first non-Meta app to reach three billion downloads globally.

Quiz

  1. Why has the European Commission ordered its employees to uninstall TikTok?
  2. What has TikTok been accused of by some people?

Conversation

Sara: Did you hear that the European Commission banned TikTok on their devices?
Jake: Really? That seems a bit extreme.
Sara: Yeah, they're worried that the Chinese government will steal their dance moves.
Jake: (jokingly) Oh no, not the floss!
Sara: (laughs) I think they're also worried that someone might start a #hacktheEUchallenge.
Jake: (laughs) I can see the headlines now: "Cybercriminals take over EU through viral dance craze."

Discussion

  1. Do you use TikTok? Why or why not?
  2. How do you think the European Commission's decision will affect the popularity of TikTok?
  3. Do you think the concerns over TikTok's data privacy are justified?
  4. Are you concerned about the increasing tensions between China and the U.S/EU?

Vocabulary Answers

allegations → accusations
corporate → business
to exploit → to abuse
fundamental → basic
misconceptions → misunderstandings

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. Because of concerns over data security.
  2. It has been accused of sharing users' data with the Chinese government.

Source Material

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64743991

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