Apple had to pay $95 million because people said Siri was listening to them without asking. They said Apple shared what Siri heard with people who sell things. Apple didn’t say they did anything wrong, but they promised to delete old recordings. People said Siri recorded them even when they didn’t say “Hey, Siri.”

A person named Fumiko Lopez said Siri listened to her and her daughter and then showed them ads. The lawsuit let a few people help many others who had the same problem. People in the U.S. might get up to $20 for each device with Siri from 2014 to 2019. Lawyers might get $30 million for their work. Apple decided to pay instead of going to court, which could have cost more money.

Original news source: Apple to pay $95m to settle Siri ‘listening’ lawsuit (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Have students act out the words related to the article, such as “Siri,” “listen,” “ads,” and “lawsuit.” Other students will guess what they are acting out.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Ask students if they think it is okay for Siri to listen to them without permission. Students will walk around the room and ask their classmates for their opinions, then report back to the class.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Choose vocabulary words from the article, like “Apple,” “record,” “ads,” and “lawsuit.” Have students draw the words on the board while their classmates guess what the word is.

– THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Instructions: Have students think about whether they trust technology like Siri. They will first think individually, then pair up to discuss their thoughts, and finally share their ideas with the class.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: Ask students to create a catchy headline for the article. They can work in small groups and then share their headlines with the class, explaining why they chose that particular headline.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. How much money did Apple have to pay?
2. Who said that Siri was listening to them?
3. What did people think Apple did with what Siri heard?
4. What did Apple promise to do with old recordings?
5. Who is Fumiko Lopez?
6. How much money might people in the U.S. get for each device with Siri?
7. Why did Apple decide to pay money instead of going to court?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Apple had to pay $95 million because people said (1)______ was (2)______ to them without asking. They said Apple shared what Siri heard with people who sell things. Apple didn’t say they did anything (3)______, but they promised to delete old (4)______. People said Siri recorded them even when they didn’t say “Hey, Siri.”

A person named Fumiko Lopez said Siri listened to her and her daughter and then showed them ads. The lawsuit let a few (5)______ help many others who had the same problem. (6)______ in the U.S. might get up to $20 for each device with Siri from 2014 to 2019. Lawyers might get $30 million for their work. Apple decided to pay instead of going to court, which could have (7)______ more (8)______.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is Siri?
2. Do you like talking to Siri? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if someone listened to you without asking?
4. Do you think it is okay for Siri to listen to us? Why?
5. Have you ever seen ads for things you talked about?
6. What is an ad?
7. Do you think it is important to keep our voices private? Why?
8. How would you feel if you got money for something like this?
9. Do you think Apple should say sorry? Why or why not?
10. What do you think about lawyers getting money for helping people?
11. How would you feel if your phone listened to you all the time?
12. Do you think people should trust Siri? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. lawsuit
2. recordings
3. device
4. lawyers
5. court
6. ads
7. promised
8. delete
9. problem
10. cost

Meanings:
(A) Sounds or voices saved to listen to later
(B) Saying you will do something for sure
(C) A big argument that needs a judge to decide
(D) People who help others with big arguments
(E) Pictures or words that try to sell you something
(F) To take away or remove something
(G) A thing like a phone or tablet that you use
(H) How much money you need to pay for something
(I) Something that is not right and needs fixing
(J) A place where big arguments are decided
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How much money did Apple have to pay?
(a) $95 million
(b) $50 million
(c) $20 million
(d) $10 million

2. Who said Siri was listening to them?
(a) Fumiko Lopez
(b) Tim Cook
(c) Steve Jobs
(d) Bill Gates

3. What did people say Siri did without asking?
(a) Played music
(b) Made calls
(c) Listened to them
(d) Took pictures

4. What did Apple promise to do?
(a) Make new phones
(b) Delete old recordings
(c) Sell more products
(d) Change Siri’s name

5. How much money might people get for each device?
(a) $10
(b) $5
(c) $1
(d) $20

6. How much money might lawyers get for their work?
(a) $10 million
(b) $30 million
(c) $5 million
(d) $1 million

7. What did Apple decide to do instead of going to court?
(a) Make a new Siri
(b) Stop making phones
(c) Change their name
(d) Pay money

8. What years did the problem with Siri happen?
(a) 2010 to 2015
(b) 2015 to 2020
(c) 2014 to 2019
(d) 2018 to 2022

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Apple had to pay a small amount of money, $5 million.
2. They thought Apple shared what Siri heard with other companies.
3. They promised to delete old recordings of what Siri heard.
4. People said Siri listened to them after asking.
5. Apple said they did something wrong.
6. Lawyers might get a big amount of money for helping.
7. People in the U.S. might get money for each device with Siri.
8. A woman named Fumiko Lopez said Siri listened to her and her daughter.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. What did Apple have to pay for?
2. Who said Siri was listening to them?
3. What did Fumiko Lopez say Siri did?
4. How much money might people in the U.S. get?
5. Why did Apple decide to pay money instead of going to court?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How much money did Apple have to pay?
Apple had to pay $95 million.

2. Who said that Siri was listening to them?
People said that Siri was listening to them.

3. What did people think Apple did with what Siri heard?
People thought Apple shared what Siri heard with people who sell things.

4. What did Apple promise to do with old recordings?
Apple promised to delete old recordings.

5. Who is Fumiko Lopez?
Fumiko Lopez is a person who said Siri listened to her and her daughter.

6. How much money might people in the U.S. get for each device with Siri?
People in the U.S. might get up to $20 for each device with Siri.

7. Why did Apple decide to pay money instead of going to court?
Apple decided to pay money to avoid spending more money in court.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Siri
(2) listening
(3) wrong
(4) recordings
(5) people
(6) People
(7) cost
(8) money
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. lawsuit
Answer: (C) A big argument that needs a judge to decide

2. recordings
Answer: (A) Sounds or voices saved to listen to later

3. device
Answer: (G) A thing like a phone or tablet that you use

4. lawyers
Answer: (D) People who help others with big arguments

5. court
Answer: (J) A place where big arguments are decided

6. ads
Answer: (E) Pictures or words that try to sell you something

7. promised
Answer: (B) Saying you will do something for sure

8. delete
Answer: (F) To take away or remove something

9. problem
Answer: (I) Something that is not right and needs fixing

10. cost
Answer: (H) How much money you need to pay for something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How much money did Apple have to pay?
Answer: (a) $95 million

2. Who said Siri was listening to them?
Answer: (a) Fumiko Lopez

3. What did people say Siri did without asking?
Answer: (c) Listened to them

4. What did Apple promise to do?
Answer: (b) Delete old recordings

5. How much money might people get for each device?
Answer: (d) $20

6. How much money might lawyers get for their work?
Answer: (b) $30 million

7. What did Apple decide to do instead of going to court?
Answer: (d) Pay money

8. What years did the problem with Siri happen?
Answer: (c) 2014 to 2019
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Apple had to pay a small amount of money, $5 million. (Answer: False)
2. They thought Apple shared what Siri heard with other companies. (Answer: False)
3. They promised to delete old recordings of what Siri heard. (Answer: True)
4. People said Siri listened to them after asking. (Answer: False)
5. Apple said they did something wrong. (Answer: False)
6. Lawyers might get a big amount of money for helping. (Answer: True)
7. People in the U.S. might get money for each device with Siri. (Answer: True)
8. A woman named Fumiko Lopez said Siri listened to her and her daughter. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧