The information commissioner gave Facebo

资格题库2022-08-02  26

问题 The information commissioner gave Facebook a rap over the knuckles earlier this month,putting the company on notice of likely fines-the equivalent of a few minutes'revenue-for breaches of privacy.On Wednesday the European commission gave Google a vigorous correction,fining it¢4.3 billion for abusing its market dominance with the AndrOJd operating system which powers the overwhelming majority of the world's mobile phones.Google is appealing.The billions of euros at stake aside,it is easy to see why.Google gives most of Android away,not only to the consumers who use it,but to the companies that build their phones around it.As the company points out,there are more than 24,000 competing Android phones available today,from 1,300 companies.How can that possibly constitute a harmful monopoly?Besides,Google has real competition in the smartphone world from Apple.At the same time,these are exactly the factors that make the commission's decision so interesLing and significant.For Google's business to work,it must become as easy as possible for advertisers to reach users.That is the purpose of all the software that Google gives away,from the Android operating system,through to YouTube,Google search on phones and the Chrome browser.This might look like a cross-subsidy,but on the other hand it is the heart of the company's business.The software that Google gives away is not designed to make a profit on its own.This free version does not include the bits that make a phone useful for anything but making telephone calls,and this was the weak spot in Google's defence.None of the enticements-the mail,the search,the maps and the browser-are included.These can only be used with a proprietary chunk of software that Google controls;and manufacturers who want to use the Play store and 11 crucial Google apps must agree not to build so much as a single phone that does not include them.It is all or nothing.This licensing trick is the way in which Google has undoubtedly limited competition.The commission's decision to punish it probably comes too late to undo the damage it has done.All digital businesses tend towards a monopoly,and this is in part because in some important ways they benefit consumers more the larger they grow.Yet as customers we pay for this in other ways and as citizens even more so,not least because the companies fattened by monopoly profits grow too large to fail and too powerful to challenge.There is a public interest in preventing any company from acquiring almost unlimited power.Regulation defends democracy.Which of the following is true of Google's licensing trick?A.It is of great use to some users,but of little use to others.B.It offers many enticing functions to Android users for free.C.It imposes a restriction on manufacturers'choice of appsD.It may help Google escape punishment from the commission.

选项 A.It is of great use to some users,but of little use to others.
B.It offers many enticing functions to Android users for free.
C.It imposes a restriction on manufacturers'choice of apps
D.It may help Google escape punishment from the commission.

答案 C

解析 第四段③④句指出,若想要使用谷歌有吸引力的功能,必须依靠谷歌掌控的一大批专有软件.而制造商若要使用谷歌商店及关键应用,则必须给其生产的所有手机都装上这些应用,即:要么全都得装,要么一个也不能装。⑤句总结这种授权把戏是谷歌限制竞争的方式。可见,谷歌的授权把戏实为一种捆绑销售,限制了制造商选择应用程序的自由.C.正确。[解题技巧]A.将第四段④句It is all or nothing(要么全都得装上,要么一个也不能装)曲解为“它对某些人来说非常有用,对其他人来说一无是处”。B.与②句“有吸引力的功能均没有包含在免费版安卓系统内”相悖。D.由⑥句“欧委会的处罚决定很可能为时已晚”过度推出,但该句强调的是“无法挽回谷歌已经造成的损失”,并非“将会免除对谷歌的处罚”。
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