2018-03-28

Thumbs down: Facebook

① Once touted as a future American president, today Mark Zuckerberg must prove he is capable of leading a scandal-plagued firm, after data from 50m users ended up, in dubious ways, in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a research outfit.

② Consumers are waking up to the dangers of handing over data to behemoths run like black boxes.

③ The latest episode fits an established pattern of sloppiness towards privacy and reluctance to admit mistakes.

④ The chances of a regulatory backlash are growing.

⑤ Mr Zuckerberg has promised to audit some apps and restrict developers' access to data.

⑥ But he needs to rebuild trust by committing to an independent review of Facebook's conduct and approach to data, and the firm needs to prepare for a future in which consumers own, control and are compensated for their data.

⑦ That might be the only way to stop Facebook ending up as a heavily regulated utility with its returns on capital capped.

▍生词好句

thumbs down: 反对

thumbs up: 支持

tout /taʊt/: vt. 吹捧；鼓吹；宣传

scandal /ˈskand(ə)l/: n. 丑闻

plague /pleɪɡ/: vt. 纠缠；困扰 n. 瘟疫

end up + v-ing/adj./n./as: 最终……

dubious /ˈdjuːbɪəs/: adj. 可疑的

wake up to: 意识到

behemoth /bɪˈhiːmɒθ/: n. 巨头；庞然大物

fit a(n) … pattern: 符合……模式/套路

sloppiness /ˈslɒpɪnəs/: n. 马虎

reluctance /rɪˈlʌkt(ə)ns/: n. 不情愿

regulatory /ˌreɡ.jəˈleɪ.tər.i/: adj. 监管的

backlash /ˈbaklaʃ/: n. 强烈反击

audit /ˈɔːdɪt/: vt. 审查；审计；旁听（课程）

inspect /ɪnˈspɛkt/: vt. 审查；检查

conduct /ˈkɒndʌkt/: n.（企业的）管理模式；（个人的）行为举止

code of conduct: 行为准则

cap /kap/: vt./n. 限制