VOA慢速英语2012 Technology Report - Google Faces Heat Over New Privacy Policy

Technology Report - Google Faces Heat Over New Privacy¹ Policy

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
Google is preparing for changes in its privacy policy beginning March first. The company says it plans to replace more than sixty separate policies for different products with one main policy.
Privacy activists² criticized last month's announcement. They are concerned that the new policy will make it easier to track the activities of users across Google's many products -- from Gmail to YouTube.
Marc Rotenberg heads the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington. He says Google's aim is to create a single unified³ profile of its users.
MARC ROTENBERG: "We believe that not only is that a threat to privacy, we actually believe it is illegal, because last year Google entered into an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission⁴ in which they said they would not engage in that kind of data sharing without the explicit⁵ permission of their users."
Google says its new policy will make it simpler for users to share information across services like Google Search, Gmail and Google Calendar. And it says the new policy will help personalize each user’s experience. Over time, it says, users can expect to see better search results, fewer unwanted advertisements and more content targeted to their interests.
But Marc Rotenberg says in return, people who choose to use Google will lose control over the information they share.
MARC ROTENBERG: "The type of information you might provide for an e-mail service, for example, such as your address book, which contains private information, is different from the type of information that you might provide for a social network service where people purposely make information publicly available to their friends." Mr. Rotenberg says these two kinds of services should be kept separate.
MARC ROTENBERG: "By trying to combine these two services, in our view, Google is actually undermining⁶ a very well established expectation of privacy, particularly for popular Internet services like electronic mail."
Critics also see a bigger problem with Google's new policy. The plan would not give users a choice to "opt-out" of the data sharing.
MARC ROTENBERG: "In our view, if people want to make their personal information available, they certainly should have the right to do that. What we’re objecting to is the effort by the company to take away from the users that choice that they should have. That just seems unfair."
Google says it will not be collecting any more data than it does now. And it says users will still be able to control many privacy settings. For example, they can disable⁷ their search history and set Gmail chat to "off the record."
European Union officials have asked the company to delay the new policy to make sure it would not violate⁸ any E.U. data protection laws. Marc Rotenberg thinks the Federal Trade Commission in Washington might also try to block the new policy.
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

1 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

4 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

5 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

6 undermining   

在某物下挖洞或挖通道( undermine的现在分词 )； 侵蚀…的基础； 暗中破坏； 逐渐削弱

参考例句：

• Far from undermining this chivalry of age, the Chinese people have reinforced it. 对于老年人应受尊敬这一问题，中国人远非贬损它，而是强调它。
• The party is accused of undermining the secular state. 这个党被控损害土耳其的世俗性质。

7 disable   

vt.使丧失能力，使伤残

参考例句：

• One bomb can disable a ship.一颗炸弹就能炸毁一艘船。
• Job applications from disable workers poured in at a staggering rate.残废工人求职申请书大批涌来、数量惊人。

8 violate   

vt.违反，违背，亵渎，侵犯，妨碍

参考例句：

• Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished.那些违反交通规定的人应该受处罚。
• Can they be allowed to violate rules and regulations at will?难道能容许他们随心所欲地破坏规章制度吗？