VOA常速英语:Social Media’s Year of Falling From Grace

The tech giants have enjoyed growing markets and popularity worldwide.
一直以来，各大科技巨头公司发展欣欣向荣，享誉世界。

But 2018 changed that.
但2018年改变了这一现状。

Are America’s technology companies serving as instruments of freedom or instruments of control?
美国科技公司是作为自由性的还是控制性的工具呢？

Are they fulfilling the promise of the digital age ?
他们是否实现了数据时代的承诺呢？

Are they advancing the cause of self-government ?
是否推进了自主管理的宏伟目标呢？

Or are they serving of instruments of manipulation used by powerful interests and foreign governments to rob the people of their power, agency and dignity?
是否扮演着诸多强大利益方和外国政府用来剥削人们的权力、机构及尊严的幕后操手呢？

In 2018, there’s been the challenging year for you know tech companies and consumers are alike.
2018年，对于科技公司和消费者来说，这都是极具挑战的一年。

Companies CEO are getting called to Congress and hearing, promising profusely that they will fix the problems of data bridge but still cannot do it.
各大公司的首席执行官被国会或听证会传唤。他们保证倾尽全力解决数据鸿沟的问题。但依旧无法做到这一点。

The year saw new revelations of foreign operatives using social media to secretly spread divisive and often bogus messages in the US and worldwide.
2018年揭露了新的现象，即外国操控者利用社交媒体秘密传播引起不和及捏造虚构的信息，使其在美国及全世界传播。

It doesn’t matter to whose benefit they were operating.
他们为谁而做，并不重要。

It bothers people here that a foreign country using our social networks and digital products and services.
这里的人们担心其他国家利用社交网络和数字产品及服务。

That we have come to feel comfortable in a foreign government has come and used that against us.
担心我们已经习惯了外国政府的存在、习惯了他们用此反对我们。

Facebook faced major criticism after a data breach affected millionsand revelations that it lacks oversight allowed a political consulting firm to exploit millions of its users data.
脸书因上千万用户的信息数据泄露而广受批评指责。因其缺乏监管，致使上千万用户的数据被一间政治咨询公司利用。

That has led companies like Latticework to create new ways for users to protect their data and themselves, Sutardja says.
Sutardja说，这促使诸如Latticework之类的公司为用户开发新的方式来保护他们的数据及个人隐私。

Despite, you know apologizing profusely for leaking as much data, you can’t do anything about it because they are real master, the boss is wall straight.
尽管，对于泄露如此之多的数据，他们深表歉意。但你也毫无办法，因为他们才是真正的主宰者，老板是权力最高者。

User data was just one area of criticism in 2018.
用户数据（泄露）只是2018年遭受痛批的方面之一。

Under pressure social media companies tighten restrictions on the kinds of speech they tarry on their sitesand workers price managers about their company’s government contracts and treatment of female colleagues.
面对压力，社交媒体公司对网站上出现的各种言论加紧管制。而员工们询问经理有关公司与政府间签订的合同及女性同事的处境。

The revelations planted some like former tech columnist Walt Mossberg to give up Facebook.
此等揭露事件使得前科技专栏家Walt Mossberg不再支持脸书。

He wants federal law to limit US Internet firms collection and use of user data.
他希望联邦法限制美国网络公司采集、使用用户数据。

These are giant companies now and there really are four or five of themthat control everything and governments and citizens of countries around the world need the right to regulate them without closing down free speech and that’s tricky.
现如今有许多巨头公司，实际上是其中四五家控制着一切。世界各国政府和民众们需要在阻止自由言论的同时加紧管制。该任务实属艰难。

After a year of privacy and data scandals, 2019 may bring tighter rules governing users data and other issues.
经历了一年之久的隐私及数据泄露的丑闻后，对于管理用户数据和其他事务，我们将在2019看到更加严苛的规则。

VOA news San Francisco Now we have to go through our all of, our relationship with people
旧金山，美国之音。现在，我们必须处理好所有，处理好与人们的关系，

and make sure that we’re taking a broad enough view of our responsibilities.
并确保我们将担负起足够的责任感。