2020年经济学人 Facebook和专制统治者(3)（在线收听）

 Arab governments have passed laws against cybercrime and online terrorism to cow social-media firms and their users. Facebook “tries to comply” with local codes. It has opened an office in Dubai to liaise with officials in the region. “Digital platforms try as much as they can to collaborate with regulators to avoid the consequences of violating local regulations,” says a Gulf official. Dissidents concur.

阿拉伯政府已经通过打击网络犯罪和网络恐怖主义的法律，来威胁社交媒体公司及其用户。Facebook“试图遵守”当地法规。它在迪拜开设了一个办事处，与该地区的官员联络。一位海湾官员说：“数字平台尽可能多地与监管机构合作，以避免违反当地法规的后果。”。异见分子对此表示赞同。

Governments use more subtle forms of pressure, too. They have threatened to tax Facebook’s in-country earnings and lean on advertisers. Many also operate electronic armies to bombard Facebook with content, often complaining about opposition groups. A watchdog backed by Israel called Act.il claims to have 15,000 “online volunteers” from 73 countries keeping an eye on the platform. As a result, say critics, Facebook screens content by Palestinians far more vigorously than posts by Israelis.

政府也应用了更为巧妙的压力形式。他们威胁要对Facebook的国内收入征税，并对广告公司进行施压。许多政府还运营电子军队，通过经常抱怨反对派组织的内容对Facebook进行轰炸。一个由以色列支持的监督机构Act.il声称，有来自73个国家的15000名“在线志愿者”在关注这个平台。批评人士表示，结果是，Facebook对巴勒斯坦人的内容的屏蔽力度远远超过以色列人的帖子。

In an effort to restore user confidence, the firm recently deleted hundreds of fake accounts promoted by Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt. In May it unveiled a new oversight board which will act as its “supreme court”. It will hear appeals and monitor government websites for incitement. “Official terrorist designations will not necessarily be binding on us, especially when they come from authoritarian governments that misuse terrorism to abuse opponents,” says Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist and Nobel laureate who is one of two board members from the Middle East. More such thinking is needed.

为了恢复用户的信心，该公司最近删除了沙特阿拉伯、伊朗和埃及推广的数百个假帐户。 5月，它公布了一个新的监督委员会，将作为其“最高法院”。该监督委员会将听取上诉，并监督政府网站的煽动行为。“官方对恐怖分子的指认不一定对我们有约束力，特别是当他们来自滥用恐怖主义虐待对手的独裁政府时。”塔瓦科尔卡曼表示，他是也门记者和诺贝尔奖得主，也是两名来自中东的董事会成员之一。需要更多这样的思考。