Data privacy : Copy that

数据隐私：照猫画虎

These scandals are changing the calculus about the benefits of self-regulation. Opponents of privacy legislation have long argued that the imposition of rules would keep technology companies from innovating. Yet as trust leaches out of the system, innovation is likely to suffer. If consumers fret about what smartphone apps may do with their data, fewer new offerings will take off—especially in artificial intelligence. It emerged this week that Grindr, a dating app aimed at gay people, had been sharing details of users’ HIV status with other firms. Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple (which, admittedly, has sold it self on the idea that its customers’ data should not be a source of profit), has called privacy a “human right”. Even Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s boss, has signalled an openness to regulation. It is striking that many of the firms preparing for the GDPR’s arrival in Europe enthuse that the law has forced them to put their data house in order (see Business section).

这些丑闻改变了对于企业自我监管带来益处的认知。隐私保护立法的反对者们长时间以来一直强调政策的监管将会阻碍科技公司的创新。然而当这个体系内的信任被挥霍之后，最终受到损害的却是创新。如果用户担心智能手机上的软件获取他们隐私后随意使用，那么用户将变得越来越不愿意提供其隐私数据，特别是在人工智能领域。这个问题在一个同性交友软件 Grindr 中体现出来，这周这个软件将其用户感染 HIV 信息的数据提供给了其他公司。苹果公司（将其自身标榜为不从用户的隐私数据上获利）的 CEO Tim Cook 隐私成为“人权”。甚至是脸书公司的老板 Mark Zuckerberg 也对监管表现出了开放的态度。许多欧洲的公司在迎接 GDPR 的实行，并且要求数据库按规定保存的时候，积极的依照处理这点让人惊奇。

The need to minimise legal fragmentation only adds to the case for America to adopt bits of the GDPR.One reason behind the new rules in the EU was to harmonise data-protection laws so that firms can do business across Europe more easily. America is moving in the opposite direction. States that have detected a need for greater privacy are drafting their own laws. California, for instance, has pending legislation that would establish a data-protection authority to regulate how the state’s big tech firms use Californians’ personal data.

减少立法碎片化的需求更是增加了美国向 GDPR 学习的必要性。欧洲推动立法的背后的一个原因在于协调数据保护法律以便企业可以在欧洲地区更加便利的开展业务。美国却是向相反的方向发展。那些发现需要适用更加严格的数据保护法律的州已经开始自身的立法草案工作。以加州为例，即将开展立法工作以确定数据保护方式以及州内的公司如何使用加州的个人数据。

Internationally, too, America is increasingly an outlier. Any American firm that serves European customers will soon have no choice but to comply with the GDPR; some firms plan to employ the rules worldwide. Other countries are adopting GDPR-style laws. A similar regime on both sides of the Atlantic would help keep data flowing across borders. The alternative, of a regulatory patchwork, would make it harder for the West to amass a shared stock of AI training data to rival China’s.

在世界范围内观察，美国变得越来越像是局外人。任何在欧洲地区提供服务的美国公司将很快必须遵守 GDPR 的规定。有些公司计划将在世界范围内遵守这个规定。其他国家也在制定类似的 GDPR 的法律。在大西洋两岸制定类似的规范制度能促进数据自由的在两岸流动。与之相对的，监管部门如果只是缝缝补补，那么将使得西方很难在类似 AI 领域与中国相竞争。