Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. investigate
    • ex. The police are investigating the robbery to catch who did it.
  2. personalized
    • ex. I received a personalized cup for my birthday. It has my picture and name.
  3. prohibit
    • ex. The teacher prohibits students from eating during class because it’s rude.
  4. comply
    • ex. The manager told the team members to comply with the company’s policies.
  5. content
    • ex. The website’s content is for kids only. It has children's songs and cartoons.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Groups of children’s advocates are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Google. The groups say Google shows personalized ads to kids on YouTube even though it is against the law. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits websites for kids from collecting personal information of children younger than 13. The law requires these websites to get parents’ permission first.

The advocates studied the ads on YouTube. They found out that Google is showing personalized ads on videos and channels that are “made for kids.” However, Google claimed this is not true. It said it fully complies with COPPA. The ads that appear on children’s videos are not based on children’s personal information. They were based on webpage content.

Google said this is all just a misunderstanding of how advertising works on “made for kids” content. The company said that it does not allow personalized ads on this content. It also does not allow advertisers to target children with ads in any of its products. “We wish the author of the report had contacted us first,” said Google in a statement.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Online Content and Kids' Privacy

  • In your opinion, is it dangerous to allow kids to be online and use social media? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What do you think parents can do to protect kids’ online privacy (ex. don’t use kids’ personal information)? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what kind of content can be considered “made for kids” (ex. children’s songs, cartoons)? Discuss.

Personalized Ads

  • Personalized ads are based on a person’s information collected by advertising companies online. Do you think personalized ads should not be allowed? Why? Discuss.
  • What kind of personalized ads do you often see online? Discuss.
  • What kind of ads catch your attention (ex. funny ads, ads that show eco-friendly products)? Why? Discuss.