歐盟監管機構矛頭指向Facebook

LONDON — One arm of the European Union is looking into whether Facebook and other tech companies unfairly favor their own services over those of rivals. At least five data protection watchdogs across the region are questioning Facebook’s privacy settings.

倫敦——歐盟的一個分支機構正在對Facebook等科技公司進行調查，看它們是否讓旗下的服務獲得了相對於競爭對手的不正當優勢。該地區有至少五家數據保護監管機構正在對Facebook的隱私條款提出質疑。

And in a case that could have broad implications for many tech companies, the region’s top court will issue a preliminary decision next month on whether Facebook can continue transferring user data between Europe and the United States.

這個案子可能對許多科技公司產生廣泛影響。歐盟的最高法院將於下個月公佈關於Facebook能否繼續在歐洲和美國之間傳輸用戶數據的初步裁決。

Move over, Google. Facebook is the latest American tech giant that Europeans love to hate.

靠邊站吧，谷歌(Google)。Facebook纔是歐洲向美國科技巨頭髮難的最新目標。

For decades, European policy makers have taken aim at America’s giant tech businesses, trying to force them to play by European rules. In the past, Microsoft and Intel were found guilty of abusing their dominant positions to shut out rivals. Google has most recently been under the microscope, and it now faces accusations that it unfairly promoted some of its search products over those of competitors.

數十年來，歐洲的決策者一直把矛頭指向美國的大型科技公司，試圖強迫他們按照歐洲的規則行事。過去，微軟(Microsoft)和英特爾(Intel)曾被判定利用自身的壟斷地位打壓對手。到了近期，是谷歌在接受嚴格的審查，眼下還面臨着以不正當手段蓋過對手來推廣自己的搜索產品的指責。

In recent months, though, regulators’ gazes have turned to Facebook, raising questions about whether the social network has learned from the past mistakes of companies like Intel, Microsoft and Google when dealing with Europe’s policy makers and its legal system. And as Facebook runs into an increasing number of regulatory hurdles here, the scrutiny could potentially distract the company from its ambitions of becoming a one-stop shop for Internet messaging, online publishing and digital advertising.

然而最近幾個月，監管機構把視線轉向了Facebook，對這家社交網絡提出了質疑：在面對歐洲的決策部門和法律體系時，它是否從英特爾、微軟和谷歌等公司過去的錯誤中吸取了教訓？隨着Facebook在歐洲遭遇越來越多來自監管方面的障礙，這些嚴密審視可能會分散公司對提供包括網絡即時通訊、在線出版和數字廣告在內的一站式服務的注意力。

“Platforms like Facebook have grown quickly to become global forces,” said Serafino Abate, a director at the Center on Regulation in Europe, a research organization in Brussels. “But with that size comes responsibility.”

“Facebook這樣的平臺已經迅速成長爲全球性力量，”布魯塞爾研究機構歐洲監管中心(Center on Regulation in Europe)的一名主管塞拉菲諾·阿巴特(Serafino Abate)說。“但是規模越大，責任也越大。”

The scrutiny is mounting as the company’s messaging and digital advertising services spread globally. More than 1.4 billion people now use Facebook, and hundreds of millions of people also rely on the company’s mobile messaging services, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and its photo-sharing service, Instagram.

Facebook的即時通訊和數字廣告服務在全球範圍擴張的同時，它遭遇的監管也在不斷加強。目前有超過14億人使用Facebook，還有數億人使用這家公司的移動即時通訊服務WhatsApp和Facebook Messenger，以及照片分享服務Instagram。

Facebook’s core business, its social networking service, is especially popular in Europe. The company has almost doubled its number of European users to the service, to around 260 million, since 2010. Facebook also has more users in Europe than in the United States, according to eMarketer, a research company.

Facebook的核心業務——社交網絡服務——在歐洲尤其受歡迎。自2010年以來，該公司在歐洲的用戶人數幾乎翻了一番，達到2.6億左右。根據調研公司eMarketer的數據，Facebook在歐洲的用戶人數要多於美國。

Regulators in Europe, however, are especially focused on how the company collects and handles those users’ data. The region has some of the world’s toughest data protection rules, and policy makers from France, Germany and Belgium are investigating whether Facebook broke Europe’s laws after the company announced a new privacy policy this year.

然而，歐洲的監管機構主要關注的是這家公司蒐集和處理用戶數據的方式。該地區擁有世界上最嚴苛的一些數據保護規定。在Facebook今年宣佈了一項新的隱私政策之後，法國、德國和比利時的決策機構正在調查它是否違反了歐洲的法律。

If found to have breached the privacy rules, Facebook may face fines or demands that it change how the company handles people’s data, though the company says it complies with the region’s data protection laws.

如果被認定違反了隱私方面的規定，Facebook可能面臨罰款，或是接到更改公司處理用戶數據的方式的指令。不過公司表示，自己遵守了歐盟的數據保護規定。

“Obviously, there are privacy issues,” said Mathias Moulin, deputy director of enforcement at the French data protection regulator, who is overseeing the watchdog’s review of the company’s activities and who will meet other regulators at the end of May to discuss the investigations. “This is a global company. Facebook affects millions of people across Europe.”

“顯然，Facebook存在隱私方面的問題，”法國數據保護監管機構的執法副主任馬蒂亞斯·穆蘭(Mathias Moulin)說。他正在負責這家機構對Facebook行爲的審覈，並將在5月底與其他監管機構的人員見面，討論調查結果。“這是一家全球性的公司。Facebook影響着歐洲的上億人。”

Taking a page from the playbooks of other American tech companies, Facebook has not stood idle as regulators steadily lined up against it.

在監管機構紛紛發難之際，Facebook並未坐以待斃，而是借鑑了其他美國科技公司的經驗。

The company has hired a number of prominent former lawmakers and regulators, including Erika Mann, a former German member of the European Parliament. This month, the company also chose Kevin Martin, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to champion its cause in Washington, Brussels and beyond.

Facebook聘請了多位重量級的前任議員和監管者，包括曾在歐洲議會代表德國的議員埃麗卡·曼(Erika Mann)。本月，Facebook還挑選了美國聯邦通訊委員會(Federal Communications Commission)前主席凱文·馬丁(Kevin Martin)來爲公司在華盛頓和布魯塞爾等地方遊說。

To get a sense of the European backlash against Facebook, you do not have to look much further than the experiences of Max Schrems, an Austrian law student who has led a vocal opposition to how the company collects and uses people’s data from around the world.

要想了解歐洲對Facebook的強烈不滿，看看馬克斯·施雷姆斯(Max Schrems)的經歷就夠了。施雷姆斯是奧地利的一名法學系學生，一直帶頭反對這家公司蒐集和使用全世界用戶數據的做法。

Mr. Schrems, 27, recently said his concern about online data traces back at least to 2011 and a college class in California. In the class, he said, employees of several West Coast tech companies expressed open disdain for Europe’s tough data protection rules, which enshrine a person’s right to privacy as a fundamental human right.

27歲的施雷姆斯最近表示，他對網絡數據的擔憂至少要追溯到2011年，在加州的一個大學課堂上。他說，在那門課上，幾家美國西海岸科技公司的僱員公開嘲笑了歐洲嚴苛的數據保護規定。這些規定鄭重其事地表示，隱私權是一項基本人權。

After returning to Europe, he began a lengthy campaign against the type of data that Facebook collected on its users, including information on their physical locations.

回到歐洲之後，他開始了一項長期活動，抗議Facebook蒐集某些類型的數據，比如地理位置信息。

To rein in the company’s efforts, Mr. Schrems filed multiple complaints with the Irish data protection watchdog, which is responsible for policing Facebook’s activities in its international headquarters in Dublin. That led to a three-month audit of how Facebook collected data, and changes to the way the company obtained and used people’s online information.

爲了限制Facebook的做法，施雷姆斯多次向愛爾蘭的數據保護監管機構投訴。後者負責監管Facebook設在都柏林的國際總部的活動。這引發了對Facebook數據蒐集方式的長達三個月的審覈，並且迫使Facebook改變了一些獲取和使用用戶網上信息的操作。

Unhappy with how Ireland’s regulator managed his case, Mr. Schrems intensified his campaign.

施雷姆斯對愛爾蘭監管機構處理該案的手法並不滿意，此後加大了自身行動的力度。

He appealed to the country’s highest court, which referred the case to the European Court of Justice, the region’s top court. A preliminary decision is expected by the end of June on whether Facebook and other companies can continue transferring data between Europe and the United States.

他向愛爾蘭的最高法院提出了上訴，後者將案子轉交給了歐盟地區的最高法院——歐洲法院(European Court of Justice)。該院關於Facebook等公司能否繼續在歐洲和美國之間傳輸用戶數據的最初裁決，預計將於6月底做出。

Many American tech giants rely on moving online information between the regions to feed their business models, like personalized digital advertising. If the European court rules in favor of Mr. Schrems, those practices could be drastically curtailed.

許多美國科技巨頭依靠在不同地區之間傳輸網絡信息來支撐其商業模式，比如個性化的數字廣告業務。如果歐洲法院的裁決支持施雷姆斯，那麼這些操作或將大大受限。

Mr. Schrems also filed a separate Austrian class-action lawsuit against Facebook after collecting more than 75,000 online signatures. He said that the company had violated Europe’s privacy rules — accusations Facebook strongly denies — and that his side could receive up to $14 million if he wins the case. A decision is not expected until at least early 2016.

在徵集了逾7.5萬個網上簽名之後，施雷姆斯還在奧地利發起了另一樁集體訴訟。他說，這家公司違反了歐洲的隱私規定——Facebook強烈否認這些指控——如果勝訴，他這一方可以獲得至多1400萬美元的賠償。此案至少要等到2016年初纔會有裁決。

“This is about limiting what Facebook can do with Europeans’ data,” said Mr. Schrems, who remains active on the service despite his legal disputes. “How much should they be allowed to dig into the souls of their users? That’s what we’re fighting for.”

“這是爲了限制Facebook可以對歐洲用戶的數據進行的操作，”施雷姆斯說。儘管與Facebook存在法律糾紛，他仍然是該網站的活躍用戶。“應該允許他們在多大程度上挖掘用戶的靈魂？這就是我們在努力抗爭的問題。”

Big European companies are also pushing for stronger oversight of Facebook, including the region’s well-connected telecom industry.

歐洲的大型企業也要求對Facebook實行更加嚴格的監督。這其中包括在該地區頗具影響力的電信行業。

After Facebook bought WhatsApp, the Internet messaging service, last year for $19 billion, many of Europe’s cellphone carriers lobbied hard for the region’s antitrust regulators to review the deal. Carriers say that by combining WhatsApp with Facebook’s own messaging service, the company has a virtual monopoly over how people send messages on their smartphones.

在Facebook去年以190億美元收購了網絡即時通訊工具WhatsApp之後，許多歐洲的手機運營商進行了大力遊說，要求歐盟的反壟斷機構對這筆交易進行審覈。這些運營商們提出，把WhatsApp與Facebook自身的即時通訊服務合起來考慮之後，Facebook基本壟斷了用智能手機發送即時訊息的業務。

Europe’s antitrust authorities, however, eventually approved the takeover, and Facebook contends there are other Internet messaging services that compete with its offerings.

然而，歐洲的反壟斷部門最終還是批准了這筆交易。Facebook也堅稱，還有其他一些互聯網即時通訊服務在與自己競爭。

Yet lawmakers are now looking into whether Facebook’s messaging services should be regulated like those offered by traditional carriers. And industry executives say that as the social network starts to offer other services like phone calls through the company’s many smartphone applications, Facebook should play by the same rules that now apply to traditional mobile operators.

然而，歐洲的議員們目前正在研究Facebook的即時通訊服務是否應該受到與傳統運營商同樣的監管。通訊行業的高管稱，由於Facebook已經開始通過自身的許多智能手機應用來提供手機通話等服務，這家社交網絡公司也應該遵守適用於傳統移動運營商的規定。

“We can’t forever be living in a world where we compete with one arm tied behind our backs and they don’t,” Pierre Louette, deputy chief executive at Orange, the former French telecom monopoly, said in reference to Facebook. “Our two worlds are colliding. Now that the worlds have met, we’re all competing for people’s attention.”

“在競爭中我們的一隻手被綁在身後，而他們卻不受束縛。我們不能永遠生活在這樣的世界裏，”曾壟斷了法國電信行業的Orange公司的副執行官皮埃爾·盧埃特(Pierre Louette)提到Facebook時說。“我們的兩個世界正在發生碰撞。既然世界已經相遇，那我們就都在爭奪人們的關注。”