布鲁塞尔——欧盟于10月21日对在线旅游平台Booking.com展开了调查，原因是该公司涉嫌未能有效处理虚假房源信息及网络钓鱼诈骗行为。
BRUSSELS - The European Union opened an investigation into online travel agent Booking.com on Oct 21 over alleged failures to tackle fake listings and phishing scams.
欧盟担心Booking.com低估了欺诈行为及未经授权的住宿服务所带来的危害，也没有充分保护用户数据免遭滥用。
The EU fears Booking.com has underestimated the impact of fraud and unlicensed accommodation, and is not sufficiently protecting users’ data from being misused for scams.
这是根据《数字服务法》（DSA）对Booking.com进行的的首次调查。该法律涵盖了包括社交媒体和数字市场平台在内的众多在线服务提供商。
The probe is the first into Booking.com under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a mammoth online content law that covers a wide array of platforms including social media and digital marketplaces.
欧盟科技事务专员赫娜·维尔库宁（Henna Virkkunen）在一份声明中表示：“欧洲消费者应该能够安心地预订假期，而不用担心遭遇诈骗。”
“Europeans should be able to book their holidays without fear of being scammed,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
欧盟还表示，他们还在调查这家总部位于荷兰的公司是否违反了相关法规——因为该公司没有明确标注那些由房东付费以提升在搜索结果中显示排名的房源信息。
The EU said it was also looking into whether the Netherlands-based firm breached rules “because it did not clearly label as ads those listings whose providers paid for a higher ranking in search results shown to users”.
维尔库宁补充说：“《数字服务法》明确了各方的责任；我们必须确保欧洲领先的在线预订平台能够认真履行这些责任。”
The DSA “sets clear responsibilities” and “we must ensure that the leading booking platform in Europe takes those responsibilities seriously”, Virkkunen added.
Booking.com表示正在“全力配合调查”，并强调“安全、用户信任以及个人信息的保护是其最重要的工作重点”。
Booking.com said that it was “cooperating fully” and that “security, trust and the protection of personal information are top priorities”.
该公司还表示：“我们始终致力于与相关政府、监管机构、执法部门及行业合作伙伴合作，共同打击网络犯罪和在线欺诈行为，保护旅行者和合作伙伴的权益。”
“We remain committed to working with relevant governments, regulators, law enforcement and industry partners to combat cybercrime and online fraud and protect travellers and partners,” it added.
Booking.com属于那些必须遵守《数字服务法》严格规定的大型在线平台之一；如果严重或屡次违反法规，该公司可能面临高达其全球营业额6%的罚款，甚至被禁止运营。
Booking.com is among over 20 very large online platforms that must comply with the DSA’s stricter rules or risk fines that could go as high as 6% of their global turnover, or even a ban for serious and repeated breaches.
虽然调查没有具体的完成时间限制，但涉事公司可以提出解决方案来回应欧盟委员会的关切。
There is no legal deadline for the completion of the probe but the targeted company can offer commitments to address the European Commission’s concerns.
自2023年以来，欧盟一位高级官员就一直对Booking.com的数据管理及风险评估工作表示批评。
Suspicions over data A senior EU official was critical of Booking.com and its risk assessment efforts since 2023.
这位不愿公开姓名的官员表示：“我们认为他们的表现完全不符合标准。”
“We feel that what they have done is absolutely substandard,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
欧盟的数字监管机构表示，将评估该在线平台是否“妥善识别”了与非法内容传播相关的风险。这些非法内容包括虚假房产信息，以及那些冒充房产所有者并将其出租的诈骗分子。在某些情况下，顾客入住后才发现他们预订的房产实际上并不存在；或者房产的照片和描述与实际情况严重不符。欧盟还将调查 Booking.com 是否采取了足够的措施来应对网络钓鱼诈骗对欧洲消费者构成的威胁。
The commission – the EU’s digital watchdog – said it would assess whether the online platform “properly identified” risks linked to the spread of illegal content such as non-existent properties and fraudsters portraying themselves as the owner of a property and putting it up for rent. In some cases, customers discover on arrival that the property they thought they had booked does not exist, or more often, photographs or property descriptions do not accurately reflect reality. The EU will also investigate whether Booking.com is doing enough to address the risks that phishing scams pose to European consumers.
网络钓鱼是指通过欺骗性信息诱使用户泄露敏感信息的行为。欧盟表示，将审查 Booking.com 如何与住宿提供商共享预订信息及客户数据，并核实该公司是否建立了“足够的防护机制以防止数据被滥用”。这位高级官员指出：“我们怀疑 Booking.com 未能充分保护个人用户和企业的数据安全，这使得该系统容易受到网络钓鱼攻击的威胁。”
Phishing is broadly defined as the practice of tricking people into sharing sensitive information through deceptive messages. The EU said it would look at how reservation and guest data is shared with accommodation providers, and whether Booking.com has put in place “sufficient safeguards to prevent data from being misused”. “We suspect that Booking is not sufficiently protecting the data of... private users and business users, and (this) makes the system vulnerable for this kind of phishing,” the senior official said.
此外，Meta 也因其在平台上可能存在欺诈性广告的行为而受到调查（这项调查始于 2024 年）。
Meta is also under investigation over potentially fraudulent advertising on its platforms in a probe that began in 2024.