时代周刊:欧洲的网络隐私问题有所好转 或将造福全世界（在线收听）

Online privacy gets a boost in Europe—with potential benefits for users everywhere

欧洲的在线隐私问题有所好转——或将造福世界各地人民

By Alix Langone

文/艾利克斯·兰贡

IT’S NOT JUST YOU.

不止是你，

OVER THE PAST several weeks, many people have been bombarded with emails about data privacy from major corporations such as Twitter and Facebook.

过去几周里，许多人都遭到了推特和Facebook等大公司发来的有关数据隐私的电子邮件的狂轰滥炸。

There’s a reason all these businesses are updating their privacy policies—

各大企业纷纷升级他们的隐私政策不是没有理由——

and, though you may be tempted to trash those emails, they carry news of real change.

或许，你很想把那些邮件都丢到垃圾桶里，但它们传递的消息是实实在在的改变。

The companies sending them have until May 25 to comply with a new privacy law enacted by the European Union, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

发送这些邮件的公司必须在5月25日前加入遵守欧盟颁布的新隐私法，即《一般数据保护条例》(简称GDPR)的阵营。

DATA RIGHTS

数据的权利

The E.U. guidelines limit how companies can use and process the personal data of consumers,

欧盟的这一方针限定了企业使用和处理用户个人数据的限度，

giving ordinary people more control over their own information.

以便普通人能够更好地掌控自己的信息。

Under the GDPR, corporations need to explicitly ask if they can collect your data,

根据GDPR的规定，企业需要明确询问他们是否能收集用户的数据，

they’re required to answer if you inquire what that data is used for, and they must give you the right to permanently delete that information.

如果用户询问这些数据的用途，企业将有义务作出回答，此外，企业必须赋予用户永久性删除自己的个人信息的权利。

Companies will also be required to disclose now ubiquitous data breaches within 72 hours.

该方针还规定，如今已经无处不在的数据泄露事件发生后，企业必须在72小时之内公开数据泄露的消息。

REMEMBER THIS

记住

Even if a company chooses to change its policy for all users, only those covered by the GDPR—so, those in the E.U.—will have legal recourse.

即便一个企业选择改变针对用户的普遍政策，也只有被GDPR方针覆盖的用户——也即欧盟的用户——才有追索（赔偿）权。

But experts say it’s still an important reminder for everyone to think about these issues.

但专家表示，这一举措还是很好地提醒了大家去思考这些问题。

Many people don’t realize just how much businesses rely on data to make determinations about customers.

很多人都没有意识到企业在针对用户做一些决策时对这些数据的依赖有多严重。

“Your data is being used for significant decisions that are made about you,” says Chris Meserole, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

布鲁金斯学会研究员克里斯·梅塞洛尔表示：“重大的用户决策都离不开用户的个人数据。”

“If you are applying for a credit score, a loan, any number of things, an algorithm can just decide that you’re not qualified.”

“如果你在申请信用评分、贷款或其他任何东西，一个算法就能判定你合不合格。”

NEXT STEPS

下一步

As of now, there are no laws in the pipeline to enact similar changes in the U.S.,

就目前来看，美国还没有准备制定相关法律实行类似的改革，

so Americans will have to be satisfied with these second-hand benefits.

美国民众只能将就与其他人共享这些二手福利了。

But the GDPR is already leading some corporations to make changes globally to simplify implementation.

但GDPR已经在引领一些企业实施国际性改革，简化落实流程了。

If it affects users’ attitudes toward privacy the way some experts predict, such changes seem likely to spread.

如果他们的举措能够像一些专家预期的那样改变用户对隐私的态度，这些变化也还是有可能传播开的。