美国有线新闻 CNN 美国联邦通信委员会废除网络中立引争议

 

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to relax the government's rules concerning "net neutrality". The vote was 3-2, with three Republicans voting to repeal¹ the rules and two Democrats² voting to keep them in place. The repeal won't take effect immediately. That should happen sometime next year.

And what it means is that Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon will no longer be prevented from speeding up or slowing down Internet traffic from specific Websites or applications. They'll also be allowed to prioritize their own content. But if they do any of this, they'll have to show publicly that they did and then the government will decide whether it's fair or not.

Perspective on whether this is a good or bad thing depends on whom you talk to.

JON SARLIN, CNNMONEY PRODUCER: If the Internet is a highway, vehicles or content providers can't pay more to use a special fast lane. Think of it this way: all content is created equal in the eyes of the Internet provider. That's the basic tenet behind net neutrality. So, if the Internet is neutral, then the Internet providers are treated basically like public utilities. Comcast or AT&T, they couldn't slow down or speed up certain content. But if net neutrality ends, some companies are going to be stuck in that slow lane.

The rules that made the Net neutral were put in place during the Obama administration.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: This set of principles, the idea of net neutrality, has unleashed³ the power of the Internet and given innovators the chance to thrive.

SARLIN: But now, things are going in a different direction. Ajit Pai is now the chairman of the FCC. He's a former lawyer for Verizon.

AJIT PAI, FCC CHAIRMAN: Entrepreneurs are constantly developing new technologies and services, but too often, they're unable to bring them to market for consumers because outdate rules or regulatory inertia⁴ stand in the way.

SARLIN: To him, repealing⁵ net neutrality will lead to innovation, that will get the government out of micromanaging the Internet. The Internet providers will have more money, they'll then invest more in infrastructure⁶ and we'll have faster streaming.

But while deregulation certainly has earned the praise of the telecommunications industry, on the other side of the coin, you have tech companies and consumer advocacy groups. The open question now, will repeal of net neutrality leads to innovation or to a traffic jam?

1 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

2 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》

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 inertia   

adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝

参考例句：

• We had a feeling of inertia in the afternoon.下午我们感觉很懒。
• Inertia carried the plane onto the ground.飞机靠惯性着陆。

5 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。