評論
打印
Business
來源于《商業》版塊
Facebook
FaceBook
Volte-face
大轉變
The social network says it will behave better from now on. Promise
這家社交網站表示，從現在開始，它將表現得更好。承諾
The scene is becoming familiar: a Facebook executive is hauled before Congress in Washington, dc; a public grilling ensues. At least on July 16th and 17th American lawmakers looked better prepared than they were a year ago when they displayed little idea of Facebook’s business during hearings over its failure to stop a rogue consultancy from harvesting data on 50m users without permission. This time David Marcus fielded mostly sensible questions about the social network’s nascent cryptocurrency project, Libra, which he heads. Would transaction data be mined for valuable spending patterns? How will Facebook make money from Libra, which is to be governed by an independent body based in Switzerland?
這一幕變得越來越熟悉：Facebook的一位高管被帶到華盛頓特區的國會面前；公眾的拷問隨之而來。至少在7月16日和7月17日，美國國會議員們看起來比一年前準備得更充分了，當時他們在聽證會上對Facebook的業務幾乎一無所知，原因是該公司未能阻止一家流氓咨詢公司在未經許可的情況下收集5000萬用戶的數據。這一次，大衛•馬庫斯回答了有關這家社交網絡新興加密貨幣項目Libra的大部分合理問題。交易數據會被挖掘出有價值的消費模式嗎？Facebook將如何利用天秤幣賺錢？天秤幣將由一個總部位于瑞士的獨立機構管理。
Mr Marcus offered reasonable answers. User consent will be required to mine transaction data; money will come from advertisers, happy to pay to gain access to consumers more willing to part with their money thanks to easier online payments. The big question on everybody’s mind was different, however: why on Earth would scandal-plagued Facebook launch a global financial instrument at all?
馬庫斯先生給出了合理的答案。挖掘交易數據需征得用戶同意；資金將來自廣告客戶，由于在線支付更加便捷，他們愿意付費，以獲得更愿意掏錢的消費者。然而，每個人心里都有一個大問題：丑聞纏身的Facebook究竟為什么要推出一種全球金融工具？
The query is all the more relevant in light of a decision days earlier by the Federal Trade Commission to fine the company $5bn for its recent misuse of user data. If approved by the Department of Justice, as looks likely, the penalty will be the largest that the American government has ever meted out to a technology company (the EU has been harsher).
就在幾天前，美國聯邦貿易委員會決定對該公司處以50億美元罰款，原因是該公司最近濫用用戶數據。如果獲得司法部的批準(看起來很有可能)，這將是美國政府對科技公司開出的最大罰單(歐盟的處罰更嚴厲)。
Facebook seems eager to convince governments that, despite piles of evidence to the contrary, it can be trusted. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s boss, has called for more regulation of Big Tech, including his firm. On Capitol Hill Mr Marcus promised that Libra, and the division of Facebook which is meant to monetise it, Calibra, would not launch until the concerns of American lawmakers have been allayed. It now asks for permission rather than forgiveness, Mr Marcus appeared to be saying, not the other way around as in its youth.
Facebook似乎急于讓政府相信，盡管有大量相反的證據，但其仍是可信的。Facebook的老板馬克·扎克伯格呼吁對包括他的公司在內的大型科技公司進行更多的監管。在國會山，馬庫斯先生承諾，除非美國立法者的擔憂得到緩解，否則天秤座和旨在將其貨幣化的Facebook部門Calibra將不會啟動。馬庫斯先生似乎在說，現在它要求的是許可而不是原諒，而不是像它年輕時那樣反過來要求。
