VOA慢速英语2014 苹果公司与FBI的隐私规则纠纷

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-23 Apple, FBI Battle Over Privacy Rules 苹果公司与FBI的隐私规则纠纷

Apple Incorporated recently said it was increasing security settings on its latest operating system for the company’s wireless¹ devices. Apple said its new encryption rules are designed to protect users from search and seizure² of their iPhones.

But the changes are of concern to federal investigators³ in the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation⁴ and high-tech⁵ companies are now debating over how much personal information law enforcement agencies can demand to see.

James Comey is the head of the Bureau, better known as the FBI. He recently spoke⁶ about Apple’s new rules during a visit to the Brookings Institute in Washington. He and other FBI officials say the rules will hurt law enforcement by putting important evidence off-limits to federal investigators.

Apple released the latest operating system for iPhones and iPads last month. At the time, the company included a security change that it said would largely stop police agencies from opening the devices without the owner’s permission. The earlier operating system enabled Apple to unlock its products if police or federal investigators provided a court order.

The maker⁷ of the Android operating system, Google, quickly followed Apple’s example. The Android system is used on many wireless devices.

The change came only a few months after the U.S. Supreme⁸ Court ruled in two cases. The court declared mobile phones to be what it called “a digital record of nearly every aspect” of users’ lives. The rulings largely set the devices off limits to police except in only the rarest cases.

Privacy and civil rights activists⁹ liked the new security rules.

But Mr. Comey criticized the changed security settings as “harmful” to law enforcement. He said, “there will come a day where it will matter a great deal to innocent people that we in law enforcement can’t access certain types of data or information, even with legal authorization¹⁰.”

But one encryption security expert says the argument between the two sides is largely meaningless. Alain Ghiai is chief executive officer of DigitalSafe, a secure data service based in Switzerland. He says that the FBI can already get the information it wants because of the USA Patriot¹¹ Act. The U.S. Congress passed the law in 2001. It was extended in 2011.

Mr. Ghiai says the government can use the Patriot Act to force your Internet service provider to supply e-mails or other electronic records. He says it is easy for a government lawyer to get the information without a user’s knowledge or permission.

Mr. Ghiai notes that the new Apple and Google encryption policies make it difficult for police to break open a suspect’s phone. But he says nearly everything on that phone will have, at some point, been sent through an Internet or mobile phone service. He says the Patriot Act gives federal law enforcement nearly unlimited¹² access to those data sets – all under the cover of secrecy¹³.

FBI Director Comey knows that some people worry about the security and privacy of their information.

In his words, “some believe that the FBI has these phenomenal capabilities¹⁴ to access any information at any time—that we can get what we want, when we want it, by flipping¹⁵ some sort of switch.” “It may be true in the movies or on TV. It is simply not the case in real life,” he says.

But technology is changing far faster than the laws governing surveillance. The new encryption rules, he said, run the risk of letting criminals go free.

Mr. Ghiai agrees that the federal government should have some ability to see encrypted information on mobile devices. But he warns that measures like the Patriot Act already give the federal government access to any information that has ever been stored or shared.

Words in this Story

authorization – n. permission to do something

encrypt – v. to change (information) from one form to another especially to hide its meaning

measures – n. actions taken; legislative¹⁶ proposals

surveillance – n. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime; intelligence-gathering

1 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。

2 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 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。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

11 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

12 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

13 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

14 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。