美国反垄断机构向苹果公司开战

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May Li，男，我要去追逐心中的太阳，还要继续努力的亚古兽

精读|翻译|词组

Business | Uncle Sam v Cupertino

经济学人商业 | 美国反垄断机构与苹果公司的较量

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Business | Uncle Sam v Cupertino

经济学人商业 | 美国反垄断机构与苹果公司的较量

America’s trustbusters wage war on Apple

美国反垄断机构向苹果公司开战

Whatever the outcome, a wide-ranging antitrust case will hurt the firm

无论结果如何，此起范围广泛的反垄断案都将对苹果公司造成伤害

注释：苹果公司总部（Apple Park）位于美国加利福尼亚州库比蒂诺市

Hardly a month goes by without antitrust regulatorstaking another swipe at big-tech firms. On March 21st, it was Apple’s turn. America’s Department of Justice (DOJ) along with attorneys-general from 16 states sued the company. The case alleges that the firm uses its monopoly position in the smartphone market to “thwart” innovation, “throttle” competitors and discourage users from buying rival devices. Apple says the lawsuit is wrongheaded and that it will “vigorously defend” itself. Nonetheless the case marks an escalation in a regulatory onslaught against the once-charmed iPhone-maker.

反垄断监管机构几乎每个月都会对大型科技公司发起进攻。3月21日，重拳砸到了苹果公司身上。美国司法部（DOJ）联合16个州的总检察长对苹果公司提起诉讼，指控苹果公司利用其在智能手机市场上的垄断地位“遏制”创新、“阻挠”竞争对手并阻止用户购买竞争对手的设备。苹果公司表示这一诉讼大错特错，将为自己“坚决抗辩到底”。尽管如此，对于这家曾经风光无限的iPhone制造商而言，此案标志着针对它的监管攻势升级了。

The suit is broader than those trustbusters have previously brought against Apple. Those have tended to focus on the company’s App Store, which is the only one allowed on its devices and from which it collects a 30% fee on most in-app purchases. The latest case, however, takes issue with the way Apple operates its entire business. It cites several examples of the firm supposedly stifling rivals as a way to bolster its own dominance. These include: blocking super-apps, which bring together multiple mini-services such as payments and messaging; preventing access to cloud-based gaming apps (which could encourage users to buy cheaper, less snazzy smartphones because games run well in the cloud); and ensuring poor service when rival gadgets, such as smartwatches, interact with iPhones. Apple’s share price fell by about 4% on the news.

相较于反垄断机构之前对苹果公司提起的诉讼，这起诉讼的开炮范围更广。之前案件的火力往往集中在苹果公司的苹果应用程序商店（App Store）上，它是苹果设备上唯一允许使用的应用商店，苹果公司从大部分应用内购买中抽成30%。但是，这起最新案件将矛头指向苹果公司的整体业务运营架构。案件以几个实例指责苹果公司靠打压竞争对手来巩固自己的主导地位。其中便有：阻止超级应用程序，这些应用汇集了支付和短信等多个迷你服务；阻止用户访问云游戏应用（这可能会促使用户购买更便宜、不那么时髦的智能手机，因为游戏在云端可以丝滑运行）；在智能手表等竞品设备与iPhone交互时，服务质量直线下滑。受此消息影响，苹果股价应声下跌了约4%。

注释：

take issue with: To strongly disagree with someone or something or take offense at something.

The case adds to Apple’s other legal headaches. The eu’s Digital Markets Act, which came into effect on March 6th, forced the company to make changes to the App Store. They included allowing developers of apps for the iPhone to both charge users and distribute their apps without using Apple’s apparatus, bypassing its 30% commission. Apple’s new system still collects hefty fees from app developers. Regulators in Brussels are reportedly preparing to investigate.

在其他法律难题困扰苹果公司的情况下，这起案件无疑是火上浇油。3月6日生效的欧盟《数字市场法案》迫使苹果公司对App Store进行整改。其中包括允许iPhone应用程序开发者在不使用苹果架构的情况下使用自己的支付处理软件，从而规避苹果公司30%的佣金。而苹果公司的新系统仍向应用程序开发者收取高额费用。据报道，布鲁塞尔的监管机构正在准备进行调查。

Apple may also be forced to open up the App Store to outside payments in America as a result of a recent ruling to a suit brought by Epic, a video-game maker. Apple has floated a plan to comply. But Epic, as well as big-tech firms such as Meta and Microsoft, have filed complaints with the federal judge, arguing that it would still make alternative payments prohibitively hard. In a separate case, the DOJ has sued Google for deals it has struck with Apple and other firms to make it the default search engine on their devices. A loss could deprive Apple of $20bn each year in almost pure profit. Google denies wrongdoing.

近期，电子游戏制造商Epic向苹果提起的诉讼有了最终判决，这一裁决可能会迫使苹果在美国开放应用商店外部支付渠道。苹果已经制定了应对计划。但是Epic、Meta、微软等大型科技公司向联邦法院发出控诉，表示即便开放其他支付渠道，采用替代支付方式仍然困难重重。另一起官司是DOJ起诉谷歌此前和苹果及其他公司达成交易，让谷歌成为其设备上的默认搜索引擎。一旦谷歌败诉，苹果可能每年损失200亿美元的净利润。谷歌否认其存在不当行为。

Apple will take solace from the fact that the government has flubbed some of its recent attempts to defeat big tech in court. America’s Federal Trade Commission, another regulator, tried to challenge Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a video-game maker, but failed. It could not halt Meta’s purchase of Within, a virtual-reality (vr) fitness company. As Matt Perault, director of the University of North Carolina’s Centre on Technology Policy, says, “It may be easy to write antitrust op-eds and hold hearings, but actually winning cases is hard.”

最近，美国政府未能在法庭上成功挫败大型科技公司，苹果或许能从中稍感慰藉。另一方监管机构——美国联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）反对微软收购游戏制作商动视暴雪（Activision Blizzard），但前者的诉求被驳回。FTC也无法阻止Meta收购虚拟现实（VR）健身公司Within。北卡罗来纳大学科技政策中心主任马特·佩罗（Matt Perault）称：“撰写反垄断评论和举行听证会或许很简单，但想真正打赢官司却很难。”

The battle with Apple may drag on for years. But even if the company wins, it could still suffer the consequences. Drawn-out legal turmoil can be a distraction for top executives. It can hurt the firm’s brand. Already the company has its work cut out trying to reinvigorate iPhone sales.

和苹果的对决可能要拖个好几年。即使苹果胜诉了，接下来的日子也不好过。旷日持久的法律拉锯战会扰乱高管们的阵脚，还会损伤公司品牌形象。在如何焕发iPhone销售第二春上，苹果已经伤透脑筋了。

注释：

have one’s work cut out: To have much work to do to complete a particular task.

If it loses, Apple could probably shrug off a fine. It will worry more that the court would try to break open its unique ecosystem in which its 2bn devices, and the services they provide, reinforce demand for each other. Apple defends this so-called walled garden, saying it is vital for preserving users’ safety and privacy. Whether that is true or not, the firm’s business could suffer if it is forced to make its iPhones more interoperable with rivals’ devices, such as smartwatches and vr headsets, rather than its own.

就算败诉，这点罚款在苹果眼中也不算什么。它更担心法院会试图打破其独特的生态系统，在这个系统里，20亿台设备及配套服务互相促进彼此的需求。苹果捍卫这个所谓的封闭花园，称这对保护用户安全和隐私至关重要。不论这是真是假，若苹果被迫增强iPhone与竞品设备（如智能手表和虚拟现实头显）的交互性，把自家产品放在一旁，那么苹果业务量可能会大幅下滑。

注释：

1. If you shrug something off, you ignore it or treat it as if it is not really important or serious.把…不当回事；对…置之不理；对…满不在乎

2. interoperable a. (of computer systems or programs) able to exchange information互相操作的

As it is, technology never stands still. If big tech is dominant now, it may become even more so thanks to “generative” artificial intelligence (ai), which favours firms that have access to oceans of data, cash and it talent. The “Magnificent Seven” (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) account for 29% of the market value of the s&p 500, up from 20% at the start of 2023. This is largely thanks to the ai boom.

事实上，科技总在不断进步。如果现在大型科技公司占据了主导地位，那么生成式AI可能会进一步巩固它们的位置，因为生成式AI可以助那些拥有海量数据、资金和IT人才的企业一臂之力。美股“七巨头”（Alphabet、亚马逊、苹果、Meta、微软、英伟达和特斯拉）占标普500指数市值的29％，而2023年初这一比例为20％。在很大程度上，是AI的蓬勃发展在推波助澜。

注释：

1. as it is: as is actually the case; the reality of the situation being.事实上；实际上

2. favour: to afford advantages for success to对...有利

Notwithstanding the trustbusters’ scrutiny, the giants are manoeuvring to stay ahead. This week it emerged that Apple is in talks with Google, owned by Alphabet, to let the search giant’s Gemini gen-ai model power some iPhone features, building on both companies’ search deal. American antitrust regulators are focused on the perceived sins of the past. Increasingly, that sounds like yesterday’s war.

尽管受到反垄断监管机构的严密审查，这些科技巨头仍在努力保持领先地位。本周有消息曝出，苹果正与Alphabet旗下的谷歌谈判，以此前双方达成的搜索协议为基础，让谷歌的Gemini AI模型为苹果部分功能提供支持。美国反垄断监管机构目前主要关注这些科技公司过去的违规行为。然而，这些审查听上去越来越像昨日的战争——或曾掀起过轩然大波，但如今势头已过。

注释：

notwithstanding: If something is true notwithstanding something else, it is true in spite of that other thing. 尽管

翻译组：

zy，当下快乐就是意义

Ryan，学海无涯，译无止境

Leon，男，驻外民工，经济学人读者

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Charlie，剃刀边缘无比锋利

Vince，语言是前进路上的一道光

Dossver，谁人定我去或留，定我心中的宇宙

观点|评论|思考

本期感想

Benjamin，初学翻译，爱红酒，爱美食

在这个信息爆炸的时代，科技巨头如同当今世界的巨人，主宰着我们的日常生活，塑造着我们的文化与经济。然而，这些巨人的行为也逐渐引发了人们的担忧和不满。监管机构的举动，既是对科技公司行为的质疑，也是对科技发展方向的反思。而苹果作为其中的代表，其所面临的挑战更是举足轻重。

这场对决不仅仅是一场法律程序，更是一场思想的碰撞。一方面，苹果等科技公司力图维护自身的利益和生态系统，强调其对用户隐私和安全的保护；另一方面，监管机构则试图引导科技发展走向更加公平与开放，保护消费者的权益和市场的竞争。这是一场利益、权力和理念的角力，也是一场对未来科技发展方向的思辨。

在这场对决中，我们看到了法律的严肃与权威，也看到了科技的活力与创新。然而，更令人深思的是，监管机构与科技公司之间的这场对决，折射出了当代社会对科技发展的矛盾与焦虑。科技给我们带来了便利与进步，同时也带来了垄断与控制的隐忧。如何在科技发展的道路上找到平衡，保护消费者的权益，又不抑制创新与竞争，是一个需要我们共同思考的重要问题。

因此，这场对决不仅仅是一场法律较量，更是一场关于科技、权力和未来的思考之旅。它呼唤我们思考科技发展的方向，思考如何在监管与创新之间找到平衡，以实现科技的良性发展，造福全人类。这是一场思想的角逐，也是一场对未来的拷问。在这场对决中，我们或许能够找到一条通向科技进步与社会公平的道路，也或许会遭遇更多的挑战和抉择。然而，正是这种辩证与探索，才能推动社会向更加美好的方向迈进。

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