Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1025, Maintaining Internet Privacy.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1025.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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This episode is a dialogue between Lorenzo and Pamela about something that a lot of people are talking about nowadays internet privacy.
Let's get started.
I wouldn't post all of those photos on social media sites.
I wouldn't be so sure.
And I wouldn't post all of that personal data either or divulge personal information.
You don't know who may gain access to your page.
There are privacy safeguards on this website.
I can block anyone I don't know from getting access, so no one can see what I post without permission.
Well, the people who run the website itself have access.
They could track what you do and what you post and extract data from your page to sell to third-party buyers.
No, they can't do that.
I'd know if they were doing that.
How?
Well... As I said, that's happening as we speak.
And those are the legitimate uses of your information.
Hackers can gain access to with malicious intent.
They can do a lot of damage with the personal data you've posted.
So what should I do?
Take down most of your posts and photos, at least the ones you wouldn't want everyone to see.
But that would mean no one would know anything about me.
Worse yet, it would mean having a really boring page.
It's either risk being boring or Wow.
What a dilemma.
Lorenzo begins our dialogue by saying to Pamela I wouldn't post all of those photos on social media sites.
Notice Lorenzo begins here with a conditional, I wouldn't, I would not.
The idea is, if I were you, I would not do this.
It's a way of giving someone advice.
Lorenzo says, I wouldn't post, that is, put up on a website or upload something.
All of those photos on social media sites.
Social S-O-C-I-A-L media refers to websites where people share personal information, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Those are three popular social media sites now as we record this episode, although that changes quite quickly on the internet.
Pamela says why not?
Only my friends and family are going to see them.
Lorenzo says I wouldn't be so sure.
Once again, he uses that wouldn't or would not construction.
He's saying, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure.
It's a way here of expressing doubt.
Lorenzo says, I wouldn't post all of that personal data either or divulge personal information.
The word data, D-A-T-A, which can also be pronounced data, is information.
It's information about something.
Personal data would be information about your life, perhaps your birthday or your government registration number, which here in the United States is called your social security number.
That's personal data.
Strictly speaking, data is a plural noun, although it is often used now as a singular noun.
So you should say data are instead of data is.
But The singular of data, which is datum D-A-T-U-M is not used very much anymore, so we've sort of lost that distinction between the singular and the plural.
Lorenzo says that Pamela, To divulge D-I-V-U-L-G-E means to share something private or secret with someone else.
To tell someone something that you consider very personal or private.
Lorenzo says, you don't know who may gain access to your page.
To gain access.
A-C-C-E-S-S means to obtain the ability to see something that would normally be hidden or secret.
So, for example, your email account, something that normally only you look at but if you gave your username and password to another person, that person could gain access to your account and see all of your emails.
Pamela says there are privacy safeguards on this website.
Privacy P-R-I-V-A-C-Y refers to things that are secret or hidden or private.
The word safeguard S-A-F-E-G-U-A-R-D refers to something that is supposed to protect you or protect, in this case, information.
Privacy safeguards would be things that protect your personal data, your personal information, so that no one else can see it.
Pamela says I can block anyone I don't know from getting access.
So no one can see what I post without permission.
To block, B-L-O-C-K, someone from doing something means to not allow someone to do something, to prevent someone from doing something.
Pamela says she can block anyone from getting access to her website.
So no one can see what I post without permission.
Permission, P-E-R-M-I-S-S-I-O-N, is the right to have, see, or do something.
We might also use the word authorization or consent, C-O-N-S-E-N-T.
Lorenzo says, well, the people who run the website itself have access.
He's telling Pamela that Facebook and Twitter and other social media websites can see your information.
The people at the company, the people who own those websites can see your personal information.
Lorenzo says they could track what you do and what you post and extract data from your page to sell to third party buyers.
To track, T-R-A-C-K, means to observe something, usually over a long period of time.
To monitor, we might also say, to express the same idea.
To extract E-X-T-R-A-C-T something is to take something out of a larger body or to remove a part of something.
If you're going to extract data, you are going to be taking pieces of information from a larger list of information or, in this case, from a website or a web page.
Of course, many websites take your information and use it in certain ways.
The most common way would be to sell that information to to third party buyers.
Third, T-H-I-R-D, hyphen party, P-A-R-T-Y, refers to an organization or a person who is not part of, in this case, the company.
So if Facebook takes your information and sells it to another advertising company, the advertising company would be considered a third party.
The word party is not just a noun for a celebration, like a birthday party.
It is also used in legal situations or when we're talking about the law, to refer to a person or a company.
There are two parties in any lawsuit.
One party, one person or group is trying to get money from another person or group.
Those are the two parties involved.
Pamela says, no, they can't do that.
I'd know if they were doing that.
Lorenzo asks how.
Pamela says, well...
In other words, Pamela here is saying that if one of these websites takes her information, she will know about it.
But Lorenzo asks, how?
How will you know?
Then he continues, as I said, that's happening as we speak, meaning right now.
And those are the legitimate uses of your information.
Legitimate, L-E-G-I-T-I-M-A-T-E, means real or allowed.
Sometimes we use the word also to mean not false or not fake.
Lorenzo is saying that websites can already do this with your information.
Then he adds, hackers can gain access to with malicious intent.
A hacker H-A-C-K-E-R is a person who uses their knowledge of computers to gain access to secret information on your web page or on your own computer.
Hackers often have malicious intent.
Malicious, M-A-L-I-C-I-O-U-S, means bad or evil.
Malicious intent would be having plans to do bad things.
Lorenzo says they, meaning the hackers, can do a lot of damage with the personal data you've posted.
Pamela then asks, so what should I do?
Lorenzo advises her to take down most of your posts and photos, at least the ones you wouldn't want everyone to see.
To take down is a two-word phrasal verb, meaning in this case to delete or remove something from a website.
Pamela says, but that would mean no one would know anything about me.
Worse yet, it would mean having a really boring page.
Worse yet is a phrase we use to emphasize that something is bad, especially as an example of something that is even worse than what you are talking about.
So if a bad thing is being described and then you want to talk about something that is even worse, you might use that expression to introduce something.
The next topic.
Worse yet, Pamela here is saying that if she removed all of her posts and photos, that she would have a very boring or uninteresting webpage on this particular media site.
Lorenzo says it's either risk being boring or risk an invasion of your privacy.
Lorenzo is saying that Pamela has two choices.
Either she can have a boring page, or she can perhaps have her privacy invaded.
An invasion I-N-V-A-S-I-O-N of your privacy is when your personal information is obtained and or used by other people, often for something that you would not want it used for.
Many people think, for example, that if the government is listening to your cell phone conversations, that that is an invasion of privacy.
Not that any government would ever do that, right?
Pamela ends our dialogue by saying, wow, what a dilemma.
A dilemma.
D-I-L-E-M-M-A is a difficult dilemma or situation where the solution or the answer isn't clear.
You're not sure what to do or how you should make a decision about this problem.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I wouldn't post all of those photos on social media sites.
Why not?
Only my friends and family are going to see them.
I wouldn't be so sure.
And I wouldn't post all of that personal data either, or divulge personal information.
You don't know who may gain access to your page.
There are privacy safeguards on this website.
I can block anyone I don't know from getting access, so no one can see what I post without permission.
Well, the people who run the website itself have access.
They could track what you do and what you post and extract data from your page to sell to third-party buyers.
No, they can't do that.
I'd know if they were doing that.
How?
Well...
As I said, that's happening as we speak.
And those are the legitimate uses of your information.
Hackers can gain access to with malicious intent.
They can do a lot of damage with the personal data you've posted.
So what should I do?
Take down most of your posts and photos, at least the ones you wouldn't want everyone to see.
But that would mean no one would know anything about me.
Worse yet, it would mean having a really boring page.
It's either risk being boring or risk an invasion of your privacy.
Wow, what a dilemma.
Our script writer would never invade your privacy.
How could she?
She's such a good person.
I speak, of course, of our own wonderful Dr. Lucy Say.
Thank you, Lucy.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2014 by the Center for Educational Development.
