萬維網(wǎng)發(fā)明者批評大型互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, has attacked Facebook, Google and Twitter for promoting misinformation and “questionable” political advertising while exploiting people’s personal data, in a stinging rebuke to the world’s biggest internet companies.

萬維網(wǎng)發(fā)明者蒂姆•伯納斯-李爵士(Sir Tim Berners-Lee)對全球最大的一些互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司發(fā)出了尖銳指責(zé)，抨擊Facebook、谷歌(Google)和Twitter在利用人們的個人數(shù)據(jù)的同時，擴散虛假信息和“有問題的”政治廣告。

The British computer scientist and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor is a pioneer of the internet and has long advocated for better technical standards and access to the web as a basic human right.

這位英國計算機科學(xué)家、麻省理工學(xué)院(MIT)教授是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)領(lǐng)域的先驅(qū)，他長期主張改進技術(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，并將上網(wǎng)列為一項基本人權(quán)。

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said a new legal or regulatory framework may help to limit the power of big tech companies, which had become overly-dominant and unaccountable to ordinary users.

他在接受英國《金融時報》采訪時表示，新的法律或監(jiān)管框架或許有助于限制大型科技公司的實力，這些公司對普通用戶已變得過于主導(dǎo)和不負責(zé)任。

For example, Sir Tim suggested, rules could force social media companies to give users more control over their own data. “The number of ways that things can go wrong on the internet has been multiplying,” he said. “The timing is right for a bit of a backlash led by people in Europe.”

例如，蒂姆爵士認為，新規(guī)可以迫使社交媒體公司給用戶更多對自己數(shù)據(jù)的控制權(quán)。“目前在網(wǎng)上可能出錯的方式越來越多，”他說，“現(xiàn)在是歐洲人領(lǐng)導(dǎo)發(fā)起反擊的時候了。”

Sir Tim has frequently advocated for better standards on the internet but said his concerns have grown because of an increase in information and personal data controlled and owned by a small number of companies. He suggested that tech companies test new advertising models where users can penalise bad adverts or pay a fixed fee instead of allowing their data to be monetised through ads.

蒂姆爵士經(jīng)常倡導(dǎo)更高的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，但他表示，自己越來越擔(dān)心的是少數(shù)公司控制和擁有越來越多的信息和個人數(shù)據(jù)。他建議科技公司測試新的廣告模式，讓用戶可以對壞廣告進行懲罰，或者通過支付固定費用避免自己的數(shù)據(jù)通過廣告被貨幣化。

“Certainly we could imagine that in a better world . . . you would have a choice of search engine and a choice of social network to join,” he said. “In a better world you’d have complete control over your information anyway.”

“當(dāng)然，我們可以想象，在一個更美好的世界……你可以選擇搜索引擎，選擇想要加入的社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，”他說，“在一個更美好的世界，你無論如何都將對自己的信息擁有完全控制。”

Sir Tim published an open letter on Monday to mark the 29th anniversary of his proposal that became the world wide web. In it, he calls on policymakers and businesses to improve access to the internet through community networks and public WiFi initiatives, and to boost skills training for women.

蒂姆爵士周一發(fā)表了一封公開信，紀(jì)念萬維網(wǎng)誕生29周年。在信中，他呼吁政策制定者和企業(yè)通過社區(qū)網(wǎng)絡(luò)和公共WiFi倡議來改善互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入渠道，并加強面向女性的技能培訓(xùn)。

“The web that many connected to years ago is not what new users will find today,” the letter says. “What was once a rich selection of blogs and websites has been compressed under the powerful weight of a few dominant platforms.

“多年前很多人瀏覽的萬維網(wǎng)，與如今的新用戶將會發(fā)現(xiàn)的萬維網(wǎng)是不同的，”信中寫道，“曾經(jīng)有豐富選擇的的博客和網(wǎng)站，已在一些主導(dǎo)平臺的強大份量之下受到壓縮。

“This concentration of power creates a new set of gatekeepers, allowing a handful of platforms to control which ideas and opinions are seen and shared.”

“這種實力集中制造了新的一批‘守門員’，使少數(shù)幾個平臺可以控制哪些思想和觀點被看到和分享。”

Facebook, Google and Twitter have been at the centre of a massive storm about their dominant role in public discourse after it was revealed last summer that Russian entities had used their platforms to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election.

去年夏天曝光的情況顯示，俄羅斯實體曾利用社交媒體平臺干預(yù)2016年美國總統(tǒng)大選。此后，F(xiàn)acebook、谷歌和Twitter在公共話語空間的主導(dǎo)地位被推到一場爭議漩渦的中心。

The companies have been forced to hire staff and develop technology to improve online moderation after a string of controversies involving fake news, terrorist propaganda and inappropriate videos of children.

在一系列涉及假新聞、恐怖主義宣傳和兒童不雅視頻的爭議事件曝光后，這些公司被迫雇用專職員工，并開發(fā)技術(shù)來規(guī)范在線信息傳播。

EU rules that come into effect in May mean the companies could face the possibility of a one-hour time limit for removing terrorist-related material as well as tough new data privacy rules that come with fines of up to 4 per cent of global turnover, or €20m, whichever is higher.

將于今年5月生效的歐盟新規(guī)意味著，企業(yè)可能要在一個小時內(nèi)刪除恐怖主義相關(guān)內(nèi)容，并且面臨嚴(yán)厲的數(shù)據(jù)隱私新規(guī)——罰金高達企業(yè)全球營業(yè)額的4%，或2000萬歐元(取其高者)。