美国有线新闻 CNN 脸谱网陷数据泄露丑闻 被指影响总统大选

 

In 2004, a site known then as The Facebook was launched by a student at Harvard University.

AZUZ: That student, Mark Zuckerberg, is now the CEO of Facebook and he's admitting his company has made mistakes when it comes to some users' information. Here's what happened: years ago, a university professor created an application called "This is Your Digital Life". It included a personality test. Users who downloaded the app gave the professor permission to gather information about their locations, their friends and their likes. Under Facebook's rules at the time, all this was allowed.

But what wasn't allowed under Facebook's rules was what the professor did with this massive amount of information. He provided it to a data analysis company named Cambridge Analytica. The firm had gotten information from 50 million Facebook profiles. And "The New York Times" reported that Cambridge Analytica was using this info to influence how Americans voted.

Facebook said it asked Cambridge Analytica to delete its information in 2015, and the company says it did. But over the past few days, Facebook says it found out that not all of the info had actually been removed and the reputations of both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook were damaged. The Internet company stock took a nosedive. As of Wednesday afternoon, Facebook had lost 8 percent or almost $35 billion of its value just this week. Investors¹ filed lawsuits² against Facebook, and the movement called "Delete Facebook" gained momentum³.

CEO Zuckerberg addressed the controversy⁴ yesterday, posting, quote: We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't, then we don't deserve to serve you. He says the company is working to make sure this doesn't happen again. It plans to set new rules that make it harder for app developers to get users data and to offer a new tool that helps users revoke⁵ the permissions they've given apps.

The issue of online privacy has been debated since people started sharing information online.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Facebook's most valuable asset is how well it knows you. Every post you like, every page you follow, every friend you make tells Facebook a bit more about who you are, and more importantly, what you buy or who might vote for.

Last year, Facebook made 98 percent of its revenue on advertising⁶. That's $39.9 billion. Advertisers pay for those personal insights to make sure their messages reach the right audience. Things go wrong when that data falls into the wrong hands.

The 2016 election was bad for Democrats⁷. It was worse for Facebook. Russian operatives allegedly exploited the social network to interfere⁸ with the U.S. election, an epidemic⁹ of bogus social media posts made users questioned whether they could trust their newsfeed.

Then, revelations that a data firm called Cambridge Analytica acquired information on 50 million users for an app that Facebook says was billed as a research tool. That tool was essentially¹⁰ a personal test you took on Facebook. But what users didn't know, when you took the quiz, it also combed your friends' Facebook profiles for data.

That changed in 2014. Facebook made changes to give developers stricter policies when it came to accessing our data. But years later, it became clear the damage was done. And it's unnerving to think that researchers can learn so much about us from our social media profiles. It's been more disconcerting that a political campaign could buy access to those insights without our knowledge.

But none of that is new. It's called microtargeting and political campaigns have been doing it for years. In 2016, Donald Trump's campaign paid Cambridge Analytica millions to target voters. But in 2012, Barack Obama's team of data scientists were widely credited with helping¹¹ him win.

But there's a thin line between microtargeting and manipulation. And regulators in Washington are looking to draw that line. They're also calling for more transparency, more accountability as Facebook takes yet another hit. Some are calling on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress.

Sources inside Facebook tell me that they think more regulation is necessary when it comes to a standard for online advertising. As it stands, there's barely any. It's a pivotal moment for the tech giant.

Facebook has an extraordinary ability to influence its 2 billion users. And now, its impact will come under greater scrutiny¹² as we head into the midterm elections.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 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》

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

9 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。