美国民主党领导人警告faceapp的安全、隐私风险

US Democratic Leaders Warn of FaceApp's Security, Privacy Risks

Democratic Party leaders are warning that FaceApp, a photo-editing smartphone application developed in Russia, could present “national security and privacy risks for millions of U.S. citizens.”

FaceApp uses artificial intelligence to show a person what they may look like as they age. Users of the app -- including Hollywood celebrities¹ -- have been sharing their results on social media. It is currently the top free app available on Apple’s app store.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation² and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate FaceApp. In a letter to FBI and FTC leadership, Schumer said the app requires users to give it “full and irrevocable access to their personal photos and data.”

Also on Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee sent a message to the party’s 2020 presidential candidates warning them against using the app.

In the email, first reported by CNN, the party’s security chief urged Democratic presidential campaigns to remove the app immediately if anyone on their staff had already used it.

FaceApp launched in 2017. It was developed by Wireless³ Lab, a company based in St. Petersburg, Russia. FaceApp says on its website that it has over 80 million active users.

FaceApp has been criticized for not clearly communicating to users that it uploads images onto a shared “cloud” rather than processing the image results on an individual user’s device.

There is no evidence that FaceApp provides user data to the Russian government.

Democrats⁴ have tried to improve their party’s cyber defenses since the 2016 presidential campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russia had used hacking⁶ as part of an effort to help the campaign of Donald Trump⁷. Russia has repeatedly denied those claims.

In his letter, Schumer said it is not clear how the app keeps the data of users. It also is not clear how people can be sure that the app removes their data after usage.

Schumer also said the company’s connection to Russia raises questions about how FaceApp lets other groups, including foreign governments, gain access to the data of American citizens.

In a statement published by several media organizations, FaceApp has denied selling or sharing user data with others.

FaceApp also said most images are removed from its servers within 48 hours of the upload date. It said most people who use the app do not log in, so the company is not able to identify individuals. And, it said that while the company’s research and development team is based in Russia, the user data is not transferred to Russia.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

edit - v. to change, move, or remove parts of (a film, recording⁸, photo, etc.)

irrevocable - adj. not capable of being changed

access - n. a way of being able to use or get something

hack⁵ - v. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage, etc.

upload - v. to move or copy (a file, program, etc.) from a computer or device to a usually larger computer or computer network

1 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

2 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。

3 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。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

6 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。