用户信息遭泄露！谷歌宣布关闭Google+的背后是什么？（下）

David Carroll is a US professor who sued Cambridge Analytica earlier this year to find out what data the company had stored about him. He said that given the legal issues Facebook faces over its Cambridge Analytica cover-up, it’s not surprising Google tried to keep the leak out of the public eye.

美国教授大卫·卡罗尔（David Carroll）为查明剑桥分析公司（Cambridge Analytica）存有的关于他的数据，于今年早期起诉了这家公司。他说，鉴于剑桥分析公司的掩盖行为给脸书带来的法律问题，谷歌试图向公众隐瞒此次数据泄露事件的举动并不奇怪。

“Google is right to be concerned and the shutdown of Google+ shows how disposable things really are in the face of accountability,” he said.

谷歌的担心是对的。关闭Google+这一举措也说明，在承担数据泄露的重大责任面前，其他都是可以舍弃的。

For others, the leak was further evidence that the large technology platforms need more regulatory oversight.

同时，泄露事件也进一步说明大型技术平台需要更多的管理和监督。

 “Monopolistic internet platforms like Google and Facebook are probably ‘too big to secure’ and are certainly ‘too big to trust’ blindly,” said Jeff Hauser, from the Centre for Economic and Policy Research.

经济和政治研究中心的杰夫·霍瑟（Jeff Hauser）说：“像谷歌和脸书这样垄断的网络平台也许‘过大而难以确保安全’，并且注定因为‘过大而不能盲目地相信’”。

He argued that the US Federal Trade Commission should move toward “breaking these platforms up”.

他表示，美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）应当朝“打破平台垄断”的方向努力。

“In the interim, since we cannot trust that we know much or even most of what ought to concern the public, the FTC should install public-minded privacy monitors into the firms as an element of accountability.”

“在过渡时期，由于我们不能相信我们已经充分甚至较大程度地了解与公众密切相关的事件，美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）应当将公众隐私的监督作为责任的一部分落实到这些公司。”

Google+ was launched in 2011, quickly becoming known as a failed attempt to compete with Facebook.

Google+推出于2011年，但很快成为与脸书竞争的一个失败的尝试。

Now, after several years of speculation that it was going to be shut down, Google is bringing Google+ for consumers to an end.

如今，在经过了数年关于Google+即将关闭的猜测后，谷歌公司将停止Google+的消费者服务。

Google said it would continue to offer private Google+ powered networks for businesses currently using the software.

谷歌称将为仍在使用这款软件的商户继续提供私有Google+网络服务。

"It has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps," wrote Ben Smith, Google's vice president of engineering, in a blog post on Monday.

谷歌公司工程副总裁本·史密斯在他周一的博客中写道：“（这款软件）并没有赢得广阔的消费者群体抑或是开发者群体，并且用户与应用平台的交互也很有限。”

In the past, the company had been reluctant to share data on how often Google+ was used, but now, facing the fall out of exposed data, the firm appears keen to play down its importance.

过去谷歌公司不愿意对外展示Google+的使用率，但是面对数据泄露事件的发生，谷歌似乎正热衷于淡化其重要性。

"The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90% of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds."

“Google+消费者版本的使用率较低，参与度也不高：在该软件中，90%的用户会话时长少于五秒钟。”

“Facebook-剑桥数据分析公司”的数据丑闻是2018年年初重要的政治丑闻。据披露，在为唐纳德·特朗普竞选美国总统服务期间，剑桥数据分析公司曾在未经百万Facebook用户同意的情况下窃取他们的个人档案数据，并将它们付之政治用途。这一事件被认为是公众对个人信息数据理解的转折点，并引发了Facebook股价的大规模下跌以及关于加强科技公司数据使用规范的强烈呼声。