专题21 TikTok Comes Under Fire-高中英语【外刊·新闻·热点】素养提升拓展阅读课

TikTok Comes Under Fire 外刊新闻精品阅读和练习 Sources:  apnews.com, apnews.com, apnews.com, theguardian.com Frida (TikTok is used by about two thirds of American teens. (source)) 1. Which phone apps do you use most often? 2. Read the headline above. Have you heard this news story? If so, say what you know. If not, can you guess what it is about? WARM-UP QUESTIONS: Discuss the following questions with your partner(s). TikTok, a popular video sharing app, is potentially dangerous according to some Western governments. Government employees in the United States, Canada, and Denmark, have been told they must remove TikTok from their government-issued phones. American politicians are also preparing a law that would help President Biden to ban TikTok nationwide if he chooses to do so. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Critics say that the Chinese government could use data collected by the app, or that the app could be used to spread propaganda or misinformation. By law in China, companies have to supply data to the government if it is related to national security. Researchers say that the amount of data collected by TikTok is not different from that collected by Facebook, and this raises the question, is the targeting of TikTok xenophobic? Moreover, would it make more sense to restrict the collection of data by all social media companies? The Chinese government reacted strongly to the recent moves against TikTok. They accused the US of abusing its power to help American companies. China, however, banned American social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube long ago. Come under fire (idiom) - to be criticized Potentially (adv) - something that could happen, possibly Ban (v) - to say that something is officially not allowed Nationwide (adj, adv) - everywhere in a country Propaganda (n) - information like statements and images that support only one side of an argument, often political Misinformation (n) - false infor