Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, has attacked Facebook, Google and Twitter for promoting misinformation and “questionable” political advertising while exploiting people’s personal data, in a stinging rebuke to the world’s biggest internet companies.

万维网发明者蒂姆•伯纳斯-李爵士(Sir Tim Berners-Lee)对全球最大的一些互联网公司发出了尖锐指责，抨击Facebook、谷歌(Google)和Twitter在利用人们的个人数据的同时，扩散虚假信息和“有问题的”政治广告。

The British computer scientist and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor is a pioneer of the internet and has long advocated for better technical standards and access to the web as a basic human right.

这位英国计算机科学家、麻省理工学院(MIT)教授是互联网领域的先驱，他长期主张改进技术标准，并将上网列为一项基本人权。

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said a new legal or regulatory framework may help to limit the power of big tech companies, which had become overly-dominant and unaccountable to ordinary users.

他在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，新的法律或监管框架或许有助于限制大型科技公司的实力，这些公司对普通用户已变得过于主导和不负责任。

For example, Sir Tim suggested, rules could force social media companies to give users more control over their own data. “The number of ways that things can go wrong on the internet has been multiplying,” he said. “The timing is right for a bit of a backlash led by people in Europe.”

例如，蒂姆爵士认为，新规可以迫使社交媒体公司给用户更多对自己数据的控制权。“目前在网上可能出错的方式越来越多，”他说，“现在是欧洲人领导发起反击的时候了。”

Sir Tim has frequently advocated for better standards on the internet but said his concerns have grown because of an increase in information and personal data controlled and owned by a small number of companies. He suggested that tech companies test new advertising models where users can penalise bad adverts or pay a fixed fee instead of allowing their data to be monetised through ads.

蒂姆爵士经常倡导更高的互联网标准，但他表示，自己越来越担心的是少数公司控制和拥有越来越多的信息和个人数据。他建议科技公司测试新的广告模式，让用户可以对坏广告进行惩罚，或者通过支付固定费用避免自己的数据通过广告被货币化。

“Certainly we could imagine that in a better world . . . you would have a choice of search engine and a choice of social network to join,” he said. “In a better world you’d have complete control over your information anyway.”

“当然，我们可以想象，在一个更美好的世界……你可以选择搜索引擎，选择想要加入的社交网络，”他说，“在一个更美好的世界，你无论如何都将对自己的信息拥有完全控制。”

Sir Tim published an open letter on Monday to mark the 29th anniversary of his proposal that became the world wide web. In it, he calls on policymakers and businesses to improve access to the internet through community networks and public WiFi initiatives, and to boost skills training for women.

蒂姆爵士周一发表了一封公开信，纪念万维网诞生29周年。在信中，他呼吁政策制定者和企业通过社区网络和公共WiFi倡议来改善互联网接入渠道，并加强面向女性的技能培训。

“The web that many connected to years ago is not what new users will find today,” the letter says. “What was once a rich selection of blogs and websites has been compressed under the powerful weight of a few dominant platforms.

“多年前很多人浏览的万维网，与如今的新用户将会发现的万维网是不同的，”信中写道，“曾经有丰富选择的的博客和网站，已在一些主导平台的强大份量之下受到压缩。

“This concentration of power creates a new set of gatekeepers, allowing a handful of platforms to control which ideas and opinions are seen and shared.”

“这种实力集中制造了新的一批‘守门员’，使少数几个平台可以控制哪些思想和观点被看到和分享。”

Facebook, Google and Twitter have been at the centre of a massive storm about their dominant role in public discourse after it was revealed last summer that Russian entities had used their platforms to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election.

去年夏天曝光的情况显示，俄罗斯实体曾利用社交媒体平台干预2016年美国总统大选。此后，Facebook、谷歌和Twitter在公共话语空间的主导地位被推到一场争议漩涡的中心。

The companies have been forced to hire staff and develop technology to improve online moderation after a string of controversies involving fake news, terrorist propaganda and inappropriate videos of children.

在一系列涉及假新闻、恐怖主义宣传和儿童不雅视频的争议事件曝光后，这些公司被迫雇用专职员工，并开发技术来规范在线信息传播。

EU rules that come into effect in May mean the companies could face the possibility of a one-hour time limit for removing terrorist-related material as well as tough new data privacy rules that come with fines of up to 4 per cent of global turnover, or €20m, whichever is higher.

将于今年5月生效的欧盟新规意味着，企业可能要在一个小时内删除恐怖主义相关内容，并且面临严厉的数据隐私新规——罚金高达企业全球营业额的4%，或2000万欧元(取其高者)。