VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report - Privacy Concerns Hi

People are supposed to be social on a social media site. But choosing to share information is not the same as having it shared for you. And that difference is at the center of debate over privacy on Facebook and other social networks.

A free service that makes money by advertising¹ other sites has to find the right balance. It has to satisfy advertisers seeking information to target ads. But it also has to be careful, or people could start to worry about an invasion of privacy.

Facebook started as a site for college students to share interests and information. Today, it is the largest social media site -- more than four hundred million users. But lately it has faced a lot of criticism about its handling of privacy issues.

On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg, the twenty-six year old chief executive of Facebook, announced changes.

MARK ZUCKERBERG: "Today, we begin rolling out some new controls to make it easier for you to control what you share on Facebook."

He said controlling personal information will be simpler than with the existing system of complex privacy settings.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook, talks about new privacy settings

Marc Rotenberg is president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He told "The Early Show" on CBS television that the changes may not be enough.

MARC ROTENBERG: "I don’t think it’s going to satisfy everybody. I think there are certainly a large number of Facebook users who have decided² they really can’t trust Facebook anymore."

A website called Quitfacebook Day has been urging people to leave this Monday.

Facebook is based in Palo Alto, California. The privately³ held company does not have to report earnings⁴. But its revenue last year has been estimated at five hundred to six hundred fifty million dollars. This was mainly from selling ads aimed at users based on what they post on Facebook.

Facebook is not alone in being criticized over privacy. Google, the world leader in Web search, is in trouble for collecting information from unsecured wireless⁵ networks. This was done as specially⁶ equipped vehicles took pictures for the Google mapping feature called Street View. Google said it never meant to collect people's private information, like e-mails and passwords.

But officials in Hamburg, Germany, have launched a criminal investigation⁷. And last week two American congressmen asked the Federal Trade Commission to see if Google broke any laws in the United States.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. What do you think about privacy online? You can post comments at voaspecialenglish.com or on our Facebook page at VOA Learning English. I'm Mario Ritter.
 

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 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。