欧盟推出一项新计划，旨在遏制那些操纵人们在网上花费更多时间和金钱的行为。
The European Union is debuting a new plan designed to curb practices that manipulate people into spending more time and money online.
欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会周三提出了一项加强消费者保护的提案，名为《数字公平法案》。这些措施将赋予人们关闭鼓励强迫性或过度使用之在线功能的能力，并对违反规则的公司处以罚款。
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, presented a proposal on Wednesday for stronger consumer protection rules called the Digital Fairness Act. The measures would give people the ability to switch off online features that encourage compulsive or excessive use, levying fines on companies that violate the rules.
多年来，欧盟一直针对反垄断和隐私等问题对科技公司进行监管，如今，欧盟执法者正将目标对准在线平台用来吸引数十亿消费者并让他们上瘾的关键策略。这些限制措施可能会对最大的社交媒体公司产生重大影响，包括谷歌的YouTube、Meta Platforms Inc.的Instagram和字节跳动有限公司的TikTok，以及电子商务服务和人工智能聊天机器人。
After years of regulating tech companies over issues like antitrust and privacy, EU enforcers are now targeting the key tactics that online platforms use to attract billions of consumers and keep them hooked. These restrictions could have major impact on the largest social media firms — Google’s YouTube, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok — as well as e-commerce services and artificial intelligence chatbots.
最新规则还将禁止在线销售中的“暗黑模式”，即诱导或欺骗消费者做出非本意选择的设计功能。这些做法可能包括告诉潜在买家某产品几乎售罄，或让取消订阅变得困难。新措施还可能影响鼓励用户继续互动的人工智能机器人。
The latest rules would also outlaw “dark pattern” in online sales, design features that nudge or trick consumers into making unwanted choices. These practices can include telling prospective buyers that a product is almost sold out or making it difficult to cancel a subscription. The new measures could also impact AI bots that encourage users to continue interactions.
“我们要绝对明确地表示，关于产品或服务稀缺性的虚假声明属于暗黑模式，因此是不允许的，”负责消费者保护的委员迈克尔·麦格拉思对记者表示。彭博社本周早些时候报道了欧盟委员会的计划。
“We are making it absolutely clear that false claims about the scarcity of a product or service are a dark pattern and therefore are not allowed,” Michael McGrath, the commissioner in charge of consumer protection, told reporters. Bloomberg reported reported the commission’s plans earlier this week.
除了新规则外，欧盟还主张获得新的权力，当违规行为影响到欧盟三分之二的人口时，可直接执行消费者保护规则。目前，消费者保护违规行为由国家监管机构处理。
Alongside the new rules, the EU is claiming new powers to enforce consumer protection rules directly when breaches affect two-thirds of the bloc’s population. Currently, national regulators handle consumer protection violations.
在某些情况下，欧盟委员会可对公司处以高达其全球年销售额6%的罚款。欧盟委员会表示，规模较小的企业将不被纳入直接执法范围。
In certain cases, the commission could fine companies as much as 6% of their global annual sales. Smaller businesses would be excluded from direct enforcement, according to the commission.
新提案需要经过欧洲议员的谈判和批准，在正式成为法律之前可能会发生重大变化。
The new proposals will need to be negotiated and approved by European lawmakers and could significantly change before they are passed into law.