时代周刊:国会能控制住大型科技公司吗?(2)（在线收听）

During the hearings, Zuckerberg touted changes the company is already making to enhance privacy and transparency.

在听证会上，扎克伯格吹捧公司已经在为提高隐私和透明度做出改变了。

He made promises to root out bad actors,

他承诺会将坏人们连根拔起，

to take responsibility for unsavory content on the platform and to fight meddling in elections that are coming up this year.

还承诺为平台上令人厌恶的内容负责，以及与干预今年即将到来的选举的行为作斗争。

The unanswered question: Who exactly is going to hold him to it?

他没有回答的问题是：究竟谁会监督他坚持到底?

ALTHOUGH CONGRESS has been loath to regulate big technology firms, many lawmakers are now arguing that legislation is the answer.

尽管国会一直不愿监管大型技术企业，但许多议员现在都辩称，立法才是解决问题的办法。

“Congress has an obligation in this moment to protect American citizens and national security,”

“在这个时刻，国会有义务保护我国的公民和国家的安全，”

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democratwho represents Silicon Valley, tells TIME.

代表硅谷的民主党众议员罗·坎那告诉《时代》周刊。

“We can’t let that be done, as well-intentioned as they may be, by 30-year-old entrepreneurs.”

“我们不能让一群30岁的企业家去做这件事，尽管他们可能是出于好意。”

Legislation was brought up repeatedly at the hearings,

在听证会上立法一事被反复提及，

but sweeping new laws from Congress remain more of a threat than a promise, especially while the GOP is in charge.

但是，全方位订立新法律与其说是一种承诺，不如说是一种威胁，尤其是在共和党执政期间。

The party is deeply allergic to business regulation,

因为该党极度反感商业规则，

and Congress is always playing catchup to technology, so statutes it writes can quickly become outdated.

而且国会总是在追赶技术，所以它制定的法律很快就会过时。

Many fear that a broad law affecting the tech sector

许多人担心，一项广泛的，影响科技行业的法律

“might end up freezing us in time so the Internet can’t develop and people don’t feel like they can innovate,”

“最终可能会将我们困住，这样互联网就无法发展，人们就会觉得自己无法创新了。”

says Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital-rights advocacy group.

数字权利倡导组织电子前沿基金会的法律总监戈琳·麦克谢利表示。

Some lawmakers worry that rules dictating what’s allowed online could chill free speech

一些立法者担心，规定网上的行为尺度可能会打消言论自由的积极性，

and stifle companies that have created thousands of jobs, as well as extremely useful tools.

扼杀那些创造了无数就业机会，以及非常有用的工具的企业。

Behemoths like Google and Facebook also have influential arms in Washington

而且，诸如谷歌和Facebook之类的科技巨头在华盛顿还有

that can try to convince lawmakers that strict rules aren’t necessary, especially if they might compromise some of their constituents’ most-used products.

有机会说服议员们相信没有必要制定严格的规定，特别是那些规定可能会危及选民最常用的产品的时候，的分支机构。

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Facebook spent $11.5 million on lobbying in 2017.

根据响应政治中心的数据，Facebook2017年花了1150万美元进行游说。

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, spent more than any other single company, at $18 million.

谷歌的母公司Alphabet则花了1800万美元，超过了其他任何一家公司。

The companies and their employees also contributed millions to the campaigns of Democrats and Republicans in 2016.

这些公司及其员工还为2016年民主党和共和党的竞选活动贡献了数百万美元。

Saying lawmakers should regulate tech, as one Washington veteran put it,

正如一位华盛顿资深人士所说，议员们应该规范科技行业，

is about as simple as saying, “Let’s legislate on energy.”

这话说起来就和说“让我们为能源立法吧。”一样简单。