VOA慢速英语2017 政府机构投票结束“网络中立”规则（在线收听）

Government Agency Votes to End ‘Net Neutrality’ Rule

A government commission has voted to end the internet policy known as “net neutrality.”

美国政府一家委员会投票废除了被称之为“网络中立”的互联网政策。

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a government agency responsible for regulating the internet in the United States.

美国联邦通信委员会是一家负责管理美国互联网的政府机构。

Its members voted to end net neutrality by a vote of 3 to 2.

其成员以3：2的投票废除了网络中立规则。

Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers should treat all traffic over the internet equally.

网络中立是指互联网服务提供商应该平等对待互联网上的所有流量。

In 2015, the FCC set the rule to prevent internet service providers from interfering with traffic from some websites while providing faster service to others.

2015年，美国联邦通信委员会制订了这一规则，以防止互联网服务提供商干扰某些网站的流量，同时为其它网站提供更快的服务。

Ajit Pai is the new chairman of the FCC. Pai is a member of the Republican Party like President Donald Trump. He said the 3 to 2 vote ending net neutrality would stop unnecessary regulation. He added that the vote is “restoring the light-touch framework that has governed the internet for most of its existence.”

阿基特·派伊（Ajit Pai）是美国联邦通信委员会的新任主席。派伊跟川普一样，都是共和党成员。他说，3比2投票废除网络中立规则将会消除不必要的监管。他补充说，这次投票是“恢复大多数时期管理互联网的宽松框架。”

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat, said the move means giving the internet to a “handful of multi-billion dollar corporations.”

该委员会委员、民主党人米利翁·克莱本（Mignon Clyburn）表示，此举意味着将互联网交给“少数市值达到数十亿美元的公司。”

Under the new rules, internet providers will be free to block competing applications. Service providers would also be able to slow down competing services or offer faster speeds to companies that pay more.

根据新的规定，互联网服务提供商将有权阻止竞争性的应用程序。互联网服务提供商还将能够减慢竞争对手的网速，或是向出价更高的公司提供更快的网速。

Companies will have to place their policies online or inform the FCC about them. The change also says states cannot approve their own rules for the internet that do not agree with FCC rules.

各家公司必须将它们的政策在网上公开，或是通知美国联邦通信委员会。这项改革还称，各州不得批准不符合美国联邦通信委员会规定的互联网规则。

Internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T say that the internet experience is not going to change for most people. But many companies have worked hard to influence politicians to end the net neutrality rule.

Comcast、Verizon和AT&T等互联网服务提供商表示，对大多数人来说，互联网体验不会改变。但是很多公司都努力地影响政客们以废除网络中立规则。

Some Americans worry that ending the rule means businesses will be able to control what they see and do online.

一些美国人担心，废除网络中立规则意味着企业能够控制他们在网上看到的内容和所做的事情。

Before the commission’s vote, the FCC website recorded 22 million comments and members of Congress received more than one million phone calls.

在这次投票之前，美国联邦通信委员会的网站上收到了2200万条评论，国会议员们也接到了超过100万个电话。

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

regulate –v. to control with authority, to make rules related to a certain area

framework –n. a set of ideas or rules that support something or permit an activity to be carried out