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A Severe Penalty Awaits Facebook, but How Severe
Facebook面临严厉惩罚，问题是究竟有多严厉？
By Cecilia Kang
文/塞西莉亚·康
Facebook’s announcement in late April
Facebook曾在4月底宣布，
that it had set aside $3 billion to $5 billion to settle claims that it mishandled users’ personal data
该公司已拨出30亿~50亿美元，处理那些宣称该公司对用户个人数据使用不当的指控。
suggested a strong consensus by federal regulators that the social media giant needed to be held accountable.
Facebook的这一举动表明，联邦监管机构一致认为，他们应该追究这家社交媒体巨头的责任。
But the reality behind the scenes at the Federal Trade Commission is far more complicated,
但联邦贸易委员会（FTC)背后的现实要复杂得多，
reflecting the politics and give-and-take of the negotiations.
而这些现实也反映了谈判中的勾心斗角和彼此妥协。
The F.T.C.’s five commissioners agreed months ago that they wanted to pursue a historic penalty that would show the agency’s teeth.
几个月前，FTC的的五名委员一致同意，要对该企业进行历史性的严惩以示威严。
But now, the members are split on the size and scope of the tech company’s punishment,
但据三位不愿公开身份的知情人士透露，针对惩罚这家科技公司的哪些方面，
according to three people with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
委员们内部现在出现了分歧。
The division is complicating the final days of the talks.
因为这些分歧，已经接近尾声的谈判重新变得复杂起来。
Along with disagreement about the appropriate financial penalty,
除了委员们在多重的经济处罚才合适这一问题上意见不一外，
one of the most contentious undercurrents throughout the negotiations has been the degree
据其中两人透露，整个谈判过程中最具争议的暗涌之一就是
to which Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, should be held personally liable for any violation of a 2011 agreement, according to two of the people.
Facebook的首席执行官马克·扎克伯格个人对违反2011年的一项协议之事到底负有多大责任。
Facebook has put up a fierce fight,
该企业对此发起了激烈的反抗，
saying Mr. Zuckerberg should not be held legally responsible for the actions of all 35,000 of his employees.
声称扎克伯格不该为他手下3.5万名员工的行为承担法律责任。
The talks could fall apart,
和谈可能会破裂，
but negotiations are moving forward and are expected to conclude within days, with an announcement made soon after.
但谈判在推进，预计将在几天内结束，结果也会在不久后宣布。
This account of the F.T.C.’s investigation of Facebook is based on interviews with a half dozen people.
本次对联邦贸易委员会针对该公司的调查的报道来自对六位人士的采访。
Joseph J. Simons, the commission’s Republican chairman,
委员会的共和党主席约瑟夫·J·西蒙斯
appeared to have the votes of the other two Republican commissioners,
似乎得到了其他两名共和党委员的支持，
giving him the three needed to approve a deal.
故他满足了需要三张选票才能通过协议这一条件。
But a 3-to-2 decision along party lines, which Mr. Simons has said he wants to avoid, could lead to strong rebukes on Capitol Hill.
但党派之间3:2这种选票结果可能会招致对美国国会的强烈谴责，西蒙斯也曾表示希望避免这种情况的发生。
The stakes are enormous for the agency and Mr. Simons.
无论是对该机构还是对西蒙斯来说，这次要冒的风险都无比的大。
The case is being closely watched globally as a litmus test on how the United States government will police the country’s tech giants.
此案正受到全球的密切关注，还被视为了美国政府将如何监管该国的科技巨头的一块试金石。
The commission has a reputation of pulling some punches,
联邦贸易委员是出了名地擅长出尔反尔，
particularly in contrast with regulators in Europe, who have pursued forceful action on both privacy and antitrust issues.
和其他国家的贸易委员会，尤其是在隐私和反垄断问题上均采取了强劲措施的欧洲监管机构形成了鲜明的对比。
The largest F.T.C. fine against a tech company was $22.5 million against Google in 2012,
该委员会对科技公司开出的最高罚单是2012年对谷歌开出的，金额2250万美元的罚单，
for misleading users about how some of its tools were tracking them.
罚款理由是谷歌在用户了解它的工具是如何跟踪他们的行为一事上误导用户。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
