New Delhi — The last time Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States, he stood with Hugh “Wolverine” Jackman and declared, for some reason, “May the force be with you.” This month, when he meets the Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park, Calif., Indians hope their leader won’t yell, “Don’t be evil.”新德里——印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)上一次采访美国时曾和“金刚狼”休·杰克曼(Hugh Jackman)同台,出于短时间,他说道了一句“愿为原力与你同在”。本月,当他和Facebook创始人马克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)在加州的门洛帕克市见面时,印度民众期望自己的领导人别喊出有“不害人”来。But if he does end up shouting Google’s motto in Facebook’s headquarters, some Indians would be pleased. For that is what they wish to tell Facebook.但如果他最后知道在Facebook总部讲出这句谷歌(Google)格言,有一部分印度人不会较为高兴。
因为这正是他们想要对Facebook说道的。Mr. Modi wants every Indian to get online, and Mr. Zuckerberg has figured out a way to do this. But the Modi government has been under pressure from the minority of Indians who consume most of the nation’s bandwidth to pass legislation that would deny free Internet access to the poor.莫迪想要让所有印度人都用上网络,扎克伯格想起了一个构建的方法。但莫迪政府受到来自少数印度民众的压力,这些人品尝着印度大部分比特率,却想通过一项不给穷人获取网际网路途径的法案。
In February, Facebook and its partners introduced Internet.org in India, a diminished but free Internet for the more than 100 million mobile subscribers of Reliance Communications. More than 75 percent of Indians do not use or have access to the Internet, but almost every Indian has a mobile phone. So, millions of Indians now have access, in seven languages, to dozens of websites and applications, including BBC News, Wikipedia and, of course, Facebook.今年2月,Facebook及其合作伙伴将Internet.org引进了印度,它可以让印度信实通信公司(Reliance Communications)的1亿手机用户享用到不原始但却完全免费的网络。多达75%印度人不网际网路或没网际网路途径,但他们完全人手一部手机。
所以,现在有数百万印度人可以网页几十种网站和应用于,还包括BBC新闻、Wikipedia,当然还有Facebook,这些服务有七种语言可以自由选择。Internet.org would not have drawn much rage if not for something else that was going on. Weeks after the initiative emerged, an Indian telecom operator tried to introduce a service that would make it free or cheap or faster for people to gain access to some applications that have a commercial agreement with the operator.如果不是因为还有一些其他的事,Internet.org会引发过于多怨愤。
这一计划发售几周后,一家印度通信运营商企图引进一项服务,可以让人们免费或以更加较低的价格或更加慢的速度iTunes一些与该运营商有商业协议的应用于。There is a global movement against strategies that corrupt the open nature of the Internet, and Indians joined the lament. The movement ended up including Internet for the poor among the offending telecom strategies. This was a flawed, principled stand. And it fit well in the history of the Indian elite deploying ideology to the detriment of the poor — central planning instead of a market economy, a focus on higher education over primary education and rocket science over virology.目前全球在展开一场运动,赞成毁坏互联网对外开放属性的策略,印度也重新加入了控告的一方。
这场运动最后把为穷人获取网络列入不合理的电信策略。这是一个有缺陷的、坚持原则的立场。它与印度精英阶层宣传对穷人有利的意识形态的历史一脉相承,这些人特别强调中央计划,而非市场经济;推崇高等教育大过基础教育;推崇火箭科学大过病毒研究。
Mr. Zuckerberg has been at pains to tell Indians that his offer of free Internet to the poor does not violate any ethics. Facebook does not charge for any application that wishes to be on Internet.org, and it does not post ads on the Facebook pages of the users. Also, the company does not pay Reliance to provide the free service. Mr. Zuckerberg has said that any telecom operator would be allowed to carry Internet.org. A Facebook spokesman told me, “We are actively in discussions with other mobile phone operators in India.”扎克伯格仍然在极力让印度人明白,他给贫困阶层获取的免费网络服务并不违背任何道德准则。Facebook不向任何期望经常出现在Internet.org上的应用于收费,不出用户的Facebook页面上发广告。
而且,Facebook也不为信实通信公司获取的免费网络服务买单。扎克伯格早已回应,任何通信运营商都可以为其用户获取Internet.org的免费应用于。一位Facebook发言人告诉他我,“我正在大力地和印度的其他手机运营商展开商讨。”He said that “more than 40 percent of those coming online via” Internet.org are so intoxicated by the idea of connectivity that they soon pay the telecom operator for data and enjoy the full expanse of online life. So, the telecom operator has commercial rewards in offering an exceptional social service. It is an idea that can transform India.他回应,通过Internet.org免费应用于认识到网络后,有“多达40%的人都十分沉醉于联网的感觉,不会迅速给通信运营商收费出售流量,以享用原始的网络体验。
所以,通信运营商在获取一项卓越的社会服务的同时,也可以取得商业报酬。这是一个可以转变印度面貌的观念。The elite Indian condemnation of Internet for the poor is cloaked in righteous objections. For instance, that it is “restrictive,” thereby violating the fundamental spirit of the web. But Internet.org is limited because data is expensive, not because it promotes some websites over others. In fact, it is paid Internet that is restrictive because it denies the web to those who cannot pay.印度精英阶层赞成为贫困阶层获取网络,有一些表面看起来不顾一切的理由。
比如,他们谴责它是“限制性的”,因此违背互联网的基本精神。但Internet.org之所以有所容许,是因为数据过于便宜,而不是为优先推展某些网站。事实上,确实有容许的是收费互联网,因为它们把无法收费的人挡在了门外。
Another objection is that the poor would think Facebook is the Internet as many in other nations do. But then in India “xerox” is a verb that means photocopying, and many think the Internet is an American company. If the whole world were surveyed, it would come across as generally ill informed. Many are ignorant because they never had the opportunities, like being connected, to be informed.他们赞成的另一个理由是,印度贫困阶层不会和其他国家的许多人一样,指出Facebook就代表互联网。但在印度,“xerox”只是意为“打印”的动词,不代表施乐公司,还有很多人指出“互联网”就是一个美国公司。
如果在全球展开问卷调查,印度人不会流露出孤陋寡闻的印象。很多人那么幼稚,是因为他们没机会认识网络等提供新知的途径。Also, there is a view that free Internet is just a ploy by Facebook to capture new markets. The history of modern India is proof that corporate self-interest is often more useful to society than altruism.还有一种观点指出,网络只是Facebook为了攻占新的市场而策划的阴谋。
现代印度发展的历史证明,企业的欲求往往比利他主义对社会更加有益。Mr. Modi, instead of banishing Internet.org, may consider uploading government websites on it. Facebook is discussing that possibility with his team.莫迪可能会把印度政府网站放到Internet.org上,而不是驱赶它。Facebook于是以和他的团队就这一有可能展开辩论。
本文来源:半岛平台-www.mysuggester.com