Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google face claims of 'harmful' power

July 30, 2020

BBC NEWS

The heads of some of the world's biggest tech companies have appeared before Washington lawmakers to defend their firms against claims they abuse their power to?quash?competitors.

quash v. ?/kw??/ ?

1.( law 律 ) to officially say that a decision made by a court is no longer valid or correct 宣布（法庭的裁決）無效；撤銷（判決）??His conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal. 后來，上訴法院撤銷了對他的有罪判決。

2.to take action to stop sth from continuing 制止；阻止；平息??The rumours were quickly quashed. 流言很快被制止了。

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said the world "needs large" firms, while the heads of Facebook, Apple and Google argued their companies had spurred?innovation.

spur /sp??(r)/ ?

1.馬刺；靴刺；2.[ usually sing. ] ~ (to sth) a fact or an event that makes you want to do sth better or more quickly 鞭策；激勵；刺激；鼓舞??His speech was a powerful spur to action. 他的講話很有鼓動力。

3. 山嘴；尖坡；支脈；4.（公路或鐵路的）支線，岔線

5. ~ sb/sth (on) (to sth/to do sth) to encourage sb to do sth or to encourage them to try harder to achieve sth 鞭策；激勵；刺激；鼓舞??Her difficult childhood spurred her on to succeed. 她艱辛的童年激勵她取得成功。 ?

6.to make sth happen faster or sooner 促進，加速，刺激（某事發(fā)生）

?The agreement is essential to spurring economic growth around the world. 這項協(xié)議對于促進世界經(jīng)濟的增長是至關重要的。

7.?to encourage a horse to go faster, especially by pushing the spurs on your boots into its side 策（馬）前進；（尤指用馬刺）策（馬）加速

IDIOMS 習語

1. on the ?spur of the ?moment：suddenly, without planning in advance 一時沖動之下；心血來潮??I phoned him up on the spur of the moment. 我一時心動，給他打了電話。 ?a spur-of-the-moment decision 心血來潮的決定

2. win/earn your ?spurs：( formal ) to achieve fame or success 獲得名望；取得成功

The appearance comes as lawmakers consider tougher regulation and competition probes are under way.

Some critics want the firms broken up.

Democrats?pressed the tech titans on competition issues, while Republicans were more concerned about how they managed information and whether they were marginalising conservative views.

Democrat /'dem?kr?t/ 民主黨人，民主主義者

marginalize v. ??/?mɑ?d??n?la?z/ ?[ VN ] to make sb feel as if they are not important and cannot influence decisions or events; to put sb in a position in which they have no power 使顯得微不足道；使處于邊緣；使無實權

marginalising conservative views：邊緣化保守觀點

Congressman David Cicilline, the Democrat leading the congressional committee holding the hearing, said a year-long investigation by lawmakers had showed the online platforms had "wielded?their power in destructive, harmful ways in order to expand".

wield v. /wi?ld/ ?1.to have and use power, authority, etc. 擁有，運用，行使，支配（權力等）?She wields enormous power within the party. 她操縱著黨內(nèi)大權。 2.to hold sth, ready to use it as a weapon or tool 揮，操，使用（武器、工具等）

He said he was convinced the firms were?monopolies?and called for action.

"Some need to be broken up and all need to be properly regulated," he said at the end of more than five hours of testimony.

monopoly /m??n?p?l?/：壟斷，壟斷企業(yè)? ?testimony n.?/?test?m?ni/ ：證言、證詞、口供；證據(jù)、證明

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Tim Cook of Apple insisted they had done nothing illegal and stressed the American roots and values of their firms.

What are the main concerns about the tech giants?

At the hearing, lawmakers accused Google of having stolen content created by smaller firms, like Yelp, in order to keep users on their own web pages.

Amazon's treatment of sellers on its site, Facebook's acquisition of competitors such as Instagram, and Apple's App store also drew attention.

Mr Cicilline said Amazon had an inherent conflict of interest, since it both hosts sellers and competes against them by offering similar products. Such practice has also come under scrutiny?from European regulators.

scrutiny n. /?skru?t?ni/ ??仔細檢查；認真徹底的審查

? Her argument doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. 她的觀點經(jīng)不起認真推敲。

? The documents should be available for public scrutiny . 這些文件須公之于世，交由公眾審議。

"Amazon's dual role... is fundamentally anti-competitive and Congress must take action," he said.

However, some Republicans signalled they were not prepared to split up the firms or significantly overhaul?US competition laws, with one committee member saying "big is not inherently bad".

overhaul ?名詞重音 /???v?h??l/ ?an examination of a machine or system, including doing repairs on it or making changes to it 檢修；大修；改造??a complete/major overhaul 全面╱大檢修

動詞重音/???v??h??l/1.to examine every part of a machine, system, etc. and make any necessary changes or repairs 徹底檢修

?The engine has been completely overhauled. 發(fā)動機已徹底檢修過了。

2.to come from behind a person you are competing against in a race and go past them 趕上，超過（賽跑對手）

Republican concerns focused on perceived political bias at the firms, which they accused of suppressing conservative views.

"I'll just cut to the chase?- big tech is?out to get conservatives," said Congressman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio.

cut to the chase：開門見山；提到關鍵問題；轉(zhuǎn)入（或切入）正題

out to：企圖、意欲?big tech is out to get conservatives：IT巨頭想爭取保守黨的支持。但也有不一樣的含義有首勵志歌名叫Life’s not out to get you比較出名的翻譯是“人生何處不青山”?。因為out to get sb在口語表達中有使人難堪的意思，感覺像針對某人。Life’s not out to get you直譯就是生活不是刁難你。

·So why does it feel like even the lettuce is out to get us? 那么為什么感覺甚至連萵苣都要加害我們呢？