Ban it! (B1/B2)

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Warmer

These things are banned in some countries and legal in others. Guess which are banned where you live — then check:

1. disposable vapes

2. phones in schools

3. social media for under-15s

4. petrol cars (from a future date)

5. paying cash for large purchases

6. advertising junk food to children

Which surprised you? Which ban would you import tomorrow?

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Headline words

Newspaper headlines use special short words. Match the underlined words with the meanings:

1. MINISTER BACKS VAPE BAN

2. PARENTS URGE CRACKDOWN

3. CITY IN BID TO CURB SCOOTERS

4. COURT AXES DEEPFAKE LAW

5. PM IN BAN U-TURN

6. NEW CURBS ON JUNK FOOD ADS

a. attempt

b. limits, restrictions

c. supports

d. complete change of position

e. cancels, kills

f. strongly encourage

Read the two reports with a partner and answer the questions under each.

One year without phones

Deepfake ban collapses in court

A year after this country banned phones in all schools, the results are in — and messy. Teachers report calmer corridors and, in one survey, "the return of an extinct sound: children talking at lunch." Bullying reports are down at school but, parents note grimly, not online, where the same wars simply start at 4pm. Students are divided. "I hated it for a month," said one 15-year-old. "Now break is actually a break." Others call the ban theatre: "They took our phones and gave us laptops with chat apps. Genius."

A law banning all AI-generated video of real people without consent was struck down yesterday after satirists, film studios and, awkwardly, two government ministries admitted they could not function under it. The law was written after a fake video of a politician "confessing" to corruption was viewed eight million times on election weekend. "We must ban the poison," said its author. Opponents agreed the video was poison — and the ban unenforceable: "You cannot ban mathematics. You can only punish liars." A narrower law, targeting deceptive political fakes and intimate images, passed unanimously.

1. What improved? 2. What simply moved? 3. Is the student right that the ban is "theatre"?

1. Why was the first law written? 2. Why did it fail? 3. What passed in the end — and is it enough?

Where do you stand?

Mark each: agree / disagree / not sure — then compare:

1. Banning something is usually the announcement of a problem, not the solution.

2. Adults may harm themselves; the state's job ends at children.

3. Every generation bans what frightens it and laughs at what frightened its parents.

4. If a ban can't be enforced, it teaches contempt for all laws.

5. Slow harms (sugar, scrolling, gambling) deserve bans exactly because nobody feels them happening.

6. The freedom to sell something is not the same as the freedom to do it — ban the sellers, not the users.

7. Governments ban for the cameras and enforce for nobody.

What would you say?

Answer these two voice notes — one sentence each, your best shot:

"They banned my vapes 'for my health' in a country that sells cigarettes, alcohol and lottery tickets at every corner shop. Explain the logic — slowly."

"Every ban starts with 'you can't be trusted.' I'm an adult. Being free includes being free to choose badly."

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Which one is harder to answer? Why?

The Ministry of Bans

Your team is this year's Ministry of Bans. You have exactly three bans to spend — and you must also legalise one thing currently banned. Prepare a 60-second manifesto. The class votes for the ministry it would actually elect:

disposable vapes

gambling ads in sport

cryptocurrency

private fireworks

loot boxes in games

ultra-processed school food

social media under 16

AI voices of dead actors

homework

political ads online

SUVs in city centres

your idea: __________

Homework

Write your ministry's press release for its most controversial ban — headline included (use the headline words from page one).

"You cannot ban mathematics. You can only punish liars." Is banning things ever the answer — or just the moment a society admits it has run out of better ideas?

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