美国国家公共电台 NPR Is Facebook Too Big? State Attorneys General Want To Know

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Facebook is under fire again. Attorneys general from several states have launched a formal investigation¹ into the social media giant over anti-competitive practices. The New York attorney general's office confirmed this morning they are leading an investigation that will look at whether Facebook is hurting consumers. This is the latest move by federal and state government to get tough on big social media companies. We should note here Facebook is an NPR sponsor. We've got NPR's Aarti Shahani on the line to tell us more about this.

Hi, Aarti.

AARTI SHAHANI, BYLINE²: Hi.

MARTIN: What do you know about the investigation thus far?

SHAHANI: So the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, announced she's leading a bipartisan investigation - you heard me right, bipartisan.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

SHAHANI: That's right.

MARTIN: Hurray for that.

SHAHANI: It is multipronged. First, has Facebook been negligent³ with consumer data? Two billion-plus users signed up for the service. That's about a quarter of the population on Earth entrusting⁴ the company.

MARTIN: Wow.

SHAHANI: And Facebook has then turned around and offered exclusive access to these stockpiles of data to partners who could maybe help Facebook grow even bigger and more powerful like Cambridge Analytica and also Airbnb. Another question that James and her colleagues will investigate is whether Facebook's growth is harming consumer choice. I'll give you an example here. Just this week, the company brought its matchmaking service to the U.S., OK? Plenty of other dating apps already exist here. Facebook takes a lot of features from those apps and could easily drive the competitors out of business not because Facebook is offering a better service but because Facebook's so dominant⁵, startups can't compete for attention. Some advertisers have expressed concern about how much control Facebook has over the market. The AGs will take a look into that, too.

MARTIN: Is this just about Facebook? Or are there other companies targeted here?

SHAHANI: So another set of AGs is looking at Google. And that's being led by the Texas attorney general, a Republican, Ken⁶ Paxton. He's leading a multi-state probe into Google, according to The Wall Street Journal. Back in June, Paxton raised the concern that information about how people spend their lives - GPS location data from Google Maps or Waze, what we search for, what we view on YouTube. This data, he said, has become extremely valuable, especially when aggregated⁷ into large sets and analyzed⁸ and packaged for targeted marketing⁹.

And he was concerned that the biggest platforms like Google's YouTube don't have an incentive¹⁰ to protect consumers. You know, just this week, Google settled a case for covertly¹¹ and illegally tracking little kids as they're watching "Peppa Pig." Paxton and 42 other AGs asked the Federal Trade Commission to work closely with them to look at predatory conduct and anti-competitive practices. So presumably, that's the effort he's leading.

MARTIN: So, you know, consumers have been hearing these stories about Facebook or Google for a long time now, right? And I just wonder if you're seeing that take any - have any kind of effect because it seems to me every bad news story that comes out about these companies, consumers are, like, well, I get it. But it's just so integral in my life. It's convenient. It helps me keep in touch with family and friends.

SHAHANI: Right. But I actually think that that picture is changing, particularly as we start to understand the real stakes of it, right? There was a school of thought that maybe is still out there a bit of, hey, it's free, so it can't be bad for me. I don't pay for Facebook or YouTube. But then we have to note, Rachel, that we're entering a new chapter in history, right? That chapter is the data economy. The companies that own information, which they will then sell to other businesses - they have a whole lot of control. They can set prices. They can wipe out entire sectors¹². They can control what we believe and think to be true. I mean, we've reported on this repeatedly.

MARTIN: Right.

SHAHANI: So while the individual consumer right now might not feel harm in the moment, pain in the moment, in the long run, there could be a massive transfer of wealth and power that hurts us all. So I think that the picture is changing there. I would add that Google says it's working with regulators, including AGs.

MARTIN: All right. NPR's Aarti Shahani.

Aarti, thanks. We appreciate it.

SHAHANI: Thank you.

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

4 entrusting   

v.委托，托付( entrust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• St. Clare had just been entrusting Tom with some money, and various commissions. 圣？克莱亚刚交给汤姆一笔钱，派他去办几件事情。 来自辞典例句
• The volume of business does not warrant entrusting you with exclusive agency at present. 已完成的营业额还不足以使我方目前委托你方独家代理。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

7 aggregated   

a.聚合的，合计的

参考例句：

• He aggregated her to a political party. 他吸收她参加一政党。
• The audiences aggregated a million people. 观众总数达100万人。

8 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

11 covertly   

adv.偷偷摸摸地

参考例句：

• Naval organizations were covertly incorporated into civil ministries. 各种海军组织秘密地混合在各民政机关之中。 来自辞典例句
• Modern terrorism is noteworthy today in that it is being done covertly. 现代的恐怖活动在今天是值得注意的，由于它是秘密进行的。 来自互联网

12 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》