英语新闻丨TikTok获美国最高法院大力支持

The US Supreme Court has thrown a significant roadblock in the path of a new law that would ban the wildly popular TikTok app throughout the United States. On Wednesday, the Court announced it would hold a special hearing on Jan 10 to determine whether that law is constitutional.美国联邦最高法院为TikTok禁用法案的实施设置重大阻碍，该禁令将使网络流行应用TikTok面临全美禁用。12月18日，最高法院宣布将于1月10日举行特别听证会，以确定该法案是否符合宪法。The decision is an important temporary victory for TikTok, whose leaders are not giving up in their efforts to prevent the app from being banned — or sold — in the United States. As of now, that ban would go into effect on Jan 19. Should that happen, app stores operating in the US would be prevented from carrying TikTok, meaning no one in the country would be able to download it, and those who already have TikTok on their phones would not receive software updates, security patches or any communication from the app.这一决定为TikTok带来了一次重要的暂时胜利，其领导层仍在积极努力，试图阻止该应用在美国被禁或出售。截至目前，该禁令的生效日期定于1月19日。一旦禁令实施，美国的应用商店将禁止上架TikTok，这意味着美国用户将无法下载该应用，而已安装TikTok的用户也将无法收软件更新、安全补丁或任何来自该应用的信息。The bitter reality is that sensible conversations about TikTok are not possible in the US at the moment because the US Congress and the current President of the United States are caught up in a nonstop cycle of fear about China. And whenever fear dominates thinking, intelligent and rational choices are not made. The Supreme Court cannot end the irrational fear about China, but it might stop a ridiculous law from going into effect.然而，一个严峻的现实是，目前在美国，关于TikTok的理智对话难以展开，因为美国国会和现任美国总统均陷入了对中国无休止的恐惧循环之中。而一旦思维被恐惧主宰，人们就无法做出明智理性的决策。最高法院无法消除这种对中国的非理性恐惧，但它有望阻止这一荒谬法律的生效。By now, you may likely know the backstory about TikTok: Earlier this year, members of the US Congress authored and passed legislation that was quickly signed by US President Joe Biden, which would either ban the app in the US or require it to be sold to a non-Chinese entity. They said such draconian measures were necessary because they were convinced TikTok was a legitimate threat to US national security. They insist that the app can be manipulated to influence the feelings and attitudes of its US users. Put more bluntly: They want you to believe that TikTok might spread pro-China propaganda, leading Americans to become more sympathetic toward the country. Earlier this month, an appeals court found no evidence to support such a contention, but it nevertheless refused to prevent the ban from going into place on Jan 19, one day before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next President of the United States.目前大家可能已经了解TikTok禁令背后的故事：今年早些时候，美国国会议员起草并通过了一项立法，该立法迅速得到了美国总统乔·拜登的签署。该法案要求TikTok出售给非中国企业，否则将在全美禁止该应用。立法者认为这些严厉的措施是必要的，因为他们确信TikTok对美国国家安全构成了切实威胁。他们还坚称该应用程序可能被操控以影响美国用户的感受和态度。更直白地说，这些人想让大家相信，TikTok可能传播亲中思想以提升美国民众对中国的同情度。本月早些时候，一家上诉法院没有发现支持这种说法的证据，但它仍然拒绝阻止禁令在1月19日生效，这一日期恰好是唐纳德·特朗普宣誓就任下一任美国总统的前一天。Members of the US Congress also said the Chinese government can demand TikTok hand over any information it has about its American users. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said that demand has never been made and TikTok will not comply with any such request. The reason? "ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," Chew said. Needless to say, the US representatives and senators do not believe him.美国国会议员还声称，中国政府可以要求TikTok交出其掌握的美国用户信息。但TikTok首席执行官周受资表示，中国政府从未提出过这样的要求，TikTok也不会遵守任何此类要求。原因何在？周受资说，“字节跳动不是中国或其他任何国家的代理人”。不用说，美国的众议员和参议员根本不相信他的说法。Let's not mince words here: Anti-China hysteria — alive and well in Washington — is behind the effort to get rid of TikTok. US political elites are convinced that every sophisticated product made in China — whether we are talking about TikTok, electric vehicles, smartphones from the telecommunications company Huawei, and more — can be directed to somehow harm American citizens or the country at large. Meanwhile, they conveniently refuse to clamp down on US-created social media platforms that have repeatedly been found to twist their algorithms in order to influence the attitudes of its users.直言不讳地说，华盛顿盛行的歇斯底里的反华情绪正是推动禁用TikTok的幕后黑手。美国政治精英深信，中国制造的每一款尖端产品——无论是TikTok、电动汽车还是电信公司华为的智能手机等——都可能以某种方式损害美国公民或国家的利益。与此同时，他们却对由美国创建的社交媒体平台视而不见，尽管这些平台一再被发现通过扭曲算法来影响用户观点，他们却未采取任何有效的管制措施。Facebook is the most obvious example. In perhaps the most high-profile indictment of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and other social media apps, a former Facebook employee told the Congress that "Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy". Frances Haugen, the whistleblower, added that changes that would make Facebook "safer" were possible but Facebook was not going to do anything until prompted. Facebook就是一个典型例子。在针对Facebook、Instagram及其他社交媒体应用的母公司Meta的最引人注目的指控中，一位前Facebook员工向国会作证称，“Facebook的产品上海儿童、煽动分裂、削弱民主”。举报人弗朗西斯·豪根补充说，尽管有可能使Facebook变得更安全，但该公司不会采取任何行动，除非被督促这样做。Has anything happened since Haugen made those comments in 2021? You know the answer, and considering that in 2023 an appeals court threw out attempts by multiple US states to break up the company, there will not be any significant changes forthcoming.自豪根于2021年发表上述言论以来，有任何变化吗？大家心中早有答案，而且考虑到2023年一家上诉法院驳回了美国多个州试图分拆Facebook公司的诉求，想必未来也不会有任何实质性的改变。Knowing that, let's return to TikTok. There has been chatter in the US that the app could be sold to American investors if the ban is enforced and if President-elect Trump does nothing to stop it. However, ByteDance has made clear it will not sell. Moreover, even if TikTok were sold, the Chinese government could still prevent the sophisticated algorithms behind the app from being included, leaving the new owners with the equivalent of a fancy car with no keys to start it up.既然如此，让我们回归TikTok的话题。美国有传言称，如果该禁令生效且当选总统特朗普不采取任何阻止措施，该应用可能会被出售给美国投资者。然而，字节跳动已明确表示不会出售该应用。此外，即便TikTok被出售，中国政府仍能阻止该应用背后的精密算法纳入交易，这样新买家得到的只是一辆没有钥匙启动的豪华汽车。The reasonable — and in reality only — decision is for TikTok to remain as it is: A Chinese-produced and Chinese-owned product that has real value to small businesses and individual creators while being enjoyed by an estimated 170 million people in the US (and over 1 billion around the world). The US prides itself on being a beacon of freedom of speech; there is no way to square that idea with preventing TikTok from maintaining its presence in the country. Remember, there is no evidence that the fears about TikTok are legitimate. Thus, whether it is the US Supreme Court or soon-to-be President Trump, the hammer that could come down on TikTok must not and the nonsense surrounding the app must stop.让TikTok保持原状才是合乎情理且唯一合乎实际的决定。作为一款由中国制造并拥有的产品，它在美国拥有约1.7亿用户（全球用户超过10亿），为小型企业和个人创作者带来了真正的价值。美国自诩为言论自由的灯塔；那么禁用TikTok无疑与这一理念相悖。记住，没有证据表明对TikTok的担忧是合理的。因此，无论是美国最高法院还是即将上任的总统特朗普，都不应对TikTok挥下重锤，围绕该应用的荒谬言论必须停止。high-profileadj.引人注目的，备受关注的