纽约时报 Facebook面临严厉惩罚 问题是有多严厉(1)

A Severe Penalty Awaits Facebook, but How Severe

Facebook面临严厉惩罚，问题是究竟有多严厉？

By Cecilia Kang

文/塞西莉亚·康

Facebook’s announcement in late April

Facebook曾在4月底宣布，

that it had set aside $3 billion to $5 billion to settle claims that it mishandled users’ personal data

该公司已拨出30亿~50亿美元，处理那些宣称该公司对用户个人数据使用不当的指控。

suggested a strong consensus¹ by federal regulators that the social media giant needed to be held accountable.

Facebook的这一举动表明，联邦监管机构一致认为，他们应该追究这家社交媒体巨头的责任。

But the reality behind the scenes at the Federal Trade Commission is far more complicated,

但联邦贸易委员会（FTC)背后的现实要复杂得多，

reflecting the politics and give-and-take of the negotiations².

而这些现实也反映了谈判中的勾心斗角和彼此妥协。

The F.T.C.’s five commissioners³ agreed months ago that they wanted to pursue a historic penalty that would show the agency’s teeth.

几个月前，FTC的的五名委员一致同意，要对该企业进行历史性的严惩以示威严。

But now, the members are split on the size and scope of the tech company’s punishment,

但据三位不愿公开身份的知情人士透露，针对惩罚这家科技公司的哪些方面，

according to three people with knowledge of the talks who spoke⁴ on the condition of anonymity⁵.

委员们内部现在出现了分歧。

The division is complicating⁶ the final days of the talks.

因为这些分歧，已经接近尾声的谈判重新变得复杂起来。

Along with disagreement about the appropriate financial penalty,

除了委员们在多重的经济处罚才合适这一问题上意见不一外，

one of the most contentious⁷ undercurrents throughout the negotiations has been the degree

据其中两人透露，整个谈判过程中最具争议的暗涌之一就是

to which Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, should be held personally liable for any violation⁸ of a 2011 agreement, according to two of the people.

Facebook的首席执行官马克·扎克伯格个人对违反2011年的一项协议之事到底负有多大责任。

Facebook has put up a fierce fight,

该企业对此发起了激烈的反抗，

saying Mr. Zuckerberg should not be held legally responsible for the actions of all 35,000 of his employees.

声称扎克伯格不该为他手下3.5万名员工的行为承担法律责任。

The talks could fall apart,

和谈可能会破裂，

but negotiations are moving forward and are expected to conclude within days, with an announcement made soon after.

但谈判在推进，预计将在几天内结束，结果也会在不久后宣布。

This account of the F.T.C.’s investigation⁹ of Facebook is based on interviews with a half dozen people.

本次对联邦贸易委员会针对该公司的调查的报道来自对六位人士的采访。

Joseph J. Simons, the commission’s Republican chairman,

委员会的共和党主席约瑟夫·J·西蒙斯

appeared to have the votes of the other two Republican commissioners,

似乎得到了其他两名共和党委员的支持，

giving him the three needed to approve a deal.

故他满足了需要三张选票才能通过协议这一条件。

But a 3-to-2 decision along party lines, which Mr. Simons has said he wants to avoid, could lead to strong rebukes¹⁰ on Capitol Hill.

但党派之间3:2这种选票结果可能会招致对美国国会的强烈谴责，西蒙斯也曾表示希望避免这种情况的发生。

The stakes are enormous for the agency and Mr. Simons.

无论是对该机构还是对西蒙斯来说，这次要冒的风险都无比的大。

The case is being closely watched globally as a litmus test on how the United States government will police the country’s tech giants.

此案正受到全球的密切关注，还被视为了美国政府将如何监管该国的科技巨头的一块试金石。

The commission has a reputation of pulling some punches,

联邦贸易委员是出了名地擅长出尔反尔，

particularly in contrast with regulators in Europe, who have pursued forceful action on both privacy and antitrust issues.

和其他国家的贸易委员会，尤其是在隐私和反垄断问题上均采取了强劲措施的欧洲监管机构形成了鲜明的对比。

The largest F.T.C. fine against a tech company was $22.5 million against Google in 2012,

该委员会对科技公司开出的最高罚单是2012年对谷歌开出的，金额2250万美元的罚单，

for misleading users about how some of its tools were tracking them.

罚款理由是谷歌在用户了解它的工具是如何跟踪他们的行为一事上误导用户。

1 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

6 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

7 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 rebukes   

责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His industry rebukes me. 他的勤劳使我感到惭傀。
• The manager's rebukes in loud voice and stern expression have made the clerks gathered in the out office start with alarm. 老板声色俱厉的责备把聚集在办公室外的职员们吓坏了。