Thumbs down: Facebook
① Once touted as a future American president, today Mark Zuckerberg must prove he is capable of leading a scandal-plagued firm, after data from 50m users ended up, in dubious ways, in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a research outfit.
② Consumers are waking up to the dangers of handing over data to behemoths run like black boxes.
③ The latest episode fits an established pattern of sloppiness towards privacy and reluctance to admit mistakes.
④ The chances of a regulatory backlash are growing.
⑤ Mr Zuckerberg has promised to audit some apps and restrict developers' access to data.
⑥ But he needs to rebuild trust by committing to an independent review of Facebook's conduct and approach to data, and the firm needs to prepare for a future in which consumers own, control and are compensated for their data.
⑦ That might be the only way to stop Facebook ending up as a heavily regulated utility with its returns on capital capped.
▍生词好句
thumbs down: 反对
thumbs up: 支持
tout /taʊt/: vt. 吹捧；鼓吹；宣传
scandal /ˈskand(ə)l/: n. 丑闻
plague /pleɪɡ/: vt. 纠缠；困扰 n. 瘟疫
end up + v-ing/adj./n./as: 最终……
dubious /ˈdjuːbɪəs/: adj. 可疑的
wake up to: 意识到
behemoth /bɪˈhiːmɒθ/: n. 巨头；庞然大物
fit a(n) … pattern: 符合……模式/套路
sloppiness /ˈslɒpɪnəs/: n. 马虎
reluctance /rɪˈlʌkt(ə)ns/: n. 不情愿
regulatory /ˌreɡ.jəˈleɪ.tər.i/: adj. 监管的
backlash /ˈbaklaʃ/: n. 强烈反击
audit /ˈɔːdɪt/: vt. 审查；审计；旁听（课程）
inspect /ɪnˈspɛkt/: vt. 审查；检查
conduct /ˈkɒndʌkt/: n.（企业的）管理模式；（个人的）行为举止
code of conduct: 行为准则
cap /kap/: vt./n. 限制
