2019年经济学人 Facebook的第三幕(2)

 

Still, he intends to do it. Mr Zuckerberg claims that users will benefit from his plan to integrate its messaging apps into a single, encrypted network.

他仍然打算这么做。扎克伯格宣称用户将从他的计划中获益，他打算将公司的这些消息应用整合成一个加密网络。

The content of messages will be safe from prying¹ eyes of authoritarian² snoops and criminals, as well as from Facebook itself.

信息的内容将不会受到独裁窥探者和罪犯以及Facebook的监视。

It will make messaging more convenient, and make profitable new services possible. But caution is warranted for three reasons.

它将让短讯传递更加方便，让可盈利新服务成为可能。但是仍需要谨慎，原因有三。

The first is that Facebook has long been accused of misleading the public on privacy and security,

第一，Facebook长久以来一直被指控犯有在隐私和安全方面误导公众的罪责，

so the potential benefits Mr Zuckerberg touts³ deserve to be treated sceptically.

所以应对扎克伯格吹捧的潜在利益持怀疑态度。

He is also probably underselling the benefits that running integrated messaging networks brings to his firm,

他还有可能以低价出售这些通过整合消息网络进入到他公司的利益，

even if they are encrypted so that Facebook cannot see the content.

即使这些信息已被加密且Facebook也无法读取。

The metadata alone, ie, who is talking to whom, when and for how long,

单靠元数据、信息要素、谁在和谁通话、什么时候通话以及通话时长，

will still allow Facebook to target advertisements precisely⁴, meaning its ad model will still function.

就能让Facebook准确定位广告，这意味着它的广告模式仍然可以运行。

End-to-end encryption will also make Facebook's business cheaper to run.

端对端加密也将让Facebook的业务以更低的成本运营。

Because it will be mathematically impossible to moderate encrypted communications,

因为无法精准地调节加密通讯，

the firm will have an excuse to take less responsibility for content running through its apps, limiting its moderation costs.

该公司就有借口对那些通过其应用传输的内容负更少的责任，以此限制其节制成本。

If it can make the changes, Facebook's dominance over messaging would probably increase.

如果可以做出这些改变，Facebook对信息传送的统治可能会增加。

The newfound user-benefits of a more integrated Facebook might make it harder for regulators to argue that Mr Zuckerberg's firm should be broken up.

一个更加整合的Facebook的新用户利益可能让监管者更加难以辩称扎克伯格的公司应该关门。

Facebook's plans in India provide some insight into the new model.

Facebook在印度的计划为这一新模式提供了一些深入了解。

It has built a payment system into WhatsApp, the country's most-used messaging app. The system is waiting for regulatory approval.

其已经为WhatsApp建立了一种支付系统，WhatsApp是该国最常用的通讯应用。该系统正在等待监管批准。

The market is huge. In the rest of the world, too, users are likely to be drawn⁵ in by the convenience of Facebook's new networks.

市场巨大。在世界其他地方，用户也可能会被Facebook新网络的便捷所吸引。

Mr Zuckerberg's latest strategy is ingenious but may contain twists.

扎克伯格的最新策略非常巧妙，但可能一波三折。

1 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

3 touts   

n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• Many vouchers are returned for cash, allowing touts and middle men to make a healthy margin. 许多月饼券都被兑换成现金，这让券贩子和中间商赚取了不蜚的利润。 来自互联网
• Spotting prey, the customary crowd of hustlers and touts swarmed around, jostling for my business. 照例有大群的拉客黄牛在寻觅猎物，他们争相过来抢我的生意。 来自互联网

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。