每日英语听力外刊精读20231029:33个州起诉Meta,称Instagram危害青少年心理健康


文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)
作者:Unknown
原文标题:Meta sued by 33 states over claims youth mental health endangered by Instagram
原文发布时间:25 Oct. 2023
Meta sued by 33 states over claims youth mental health endangered by Instagram
In a complaint filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, 33 states including California and Illinois said Meta, which also operates Facebook, has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its platforms and knowingly induced young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use. "Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage and ultimately ensnare youth and teens, " the complaint said. "Its motive is profit."
The lawsuit seeks a variety of remedies, including substantial civil penalties. Meta said that it had sought to make teens safe online. "We're disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path, " Meta said in an email statement. Much of the focus on Meta stems from the release of documents in 2021 that revealed Meta had data showing that Instagram, which began as a photo-sharing app, was addictive and worsens body image issues for some teen girls.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta strives to ensure that young people spend as much time as possible on social media despite knowing that teenage brains are susceptible to the need for approval in the form of "likes" from other users about their content. Meta deceptively denied publicly that its social media was harmful, the lawsuit said. Nine other states are expected to file similar lawsuits on Tuesday, bringing the total number of states suing to 42.
33个州起诉Meta,称Instagram危害青少年心理健康

精听党背景导读
当地时间周二,美国数十个州总检察长联合起诉Meta及其子公司Instagram,指控它们的产品助长了儿童和青少年的心理健康危机。这么多不同政治背景的州总检察长的支持表明,Meta的业务面临着重大的法律挑战。美股盘中,Meta股价小幅下跌0.5%。
文本选自:The Guardian(卫报)作者:Unknown原文标题:Meta sued by 33 states over claims youth mental health endangered by Instagram原文发布时间:25 Oct. 2023关键词:Meta 社交媒体 青少年成瘾
精听党带着问题听
1.“濒危物种”用英语可以如何表达?2. 如何理解第一段的“harness”?3. 预计将有多少个州对Meta提起诉讼?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Meta sued by 33 states over claims youth mental health endangered by Instagram
33个州起诉Meta,称Instagram危害青少年心理健康
sue vt.(为要求赔偿损失而)起诉,控告,和…打官司;1. The activities of credit companies are regulated by law. 信贷公司的业务受法律的制约。
claim n. 声称,断言;
endanger vt. 使处于险境,危及;1. endangered adj.(动植物)濒危的;
endangered species 濒危物种;
段一
In a complaint filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, 33 states including California and Illinois said Meta, which also operates Facebook, has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its platforms and knowingly induced young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use. “Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” the complaint said. “Its motive is profit.”
complaint n. 抱怨,投诉;申诉;
file vt.(把文件等)归档,存档;提起(诉讼),提出(申请);1. file a complaint 提出申诉;
federal adj. 联邦(制)的;(与)联邦政府(有关的)的;1. a country with federal system 一个联邦制国家;
Oakland n. 奥克兰(美国加州西部城市);
repeatedly adv. 重复地,再三地;
mislead vt. 误导,将…引入歧途;使产生错误想法(或印象);
substantial adj. 大量的,价值巨大的;牢固的,结实的;基本的,实质性的;
platform n. 平台;讲台,舞台;讲台上的人(the platform);(火车站的)月台;1. social platform 社交平台;
knowingly adv. 故意地;机警地,狡黠地;
induce vt. 引诱,诱使;引起,导致;1. to induce someone to do something 劝说某人做某事;
compulsive adj. 难以抑制的,不能自拔的;引人入胜的;
harness vt. 控制并利用;(把动物)拴在一起(或拴到某物上);
unprecedented adj. 前所未有的,史无前例的;
entice vt. 诱使,引诱;
engage vt. 雇用,聘请;参加,从事;吸引住(注意力、兴趣);
ultimately adv. 最终,最后;根本上,最重要地;
ensnare vt. 诱捕;诱入陷阱;进入罗网;迷住;1. He was ensnared by her charms. 他被她的魅力给迷住了。
motive n. 动机,目的,原因;1. a motive for the murder 杀人动机;
参考译文
周二,包括加州和伊利诺伊州在内的33个州向加州奥克兰联邦法院提出申诉,称同样运营Facebook的Meta一再误导公众对其平台巨大危险的认识,并故意诱导儿童和青少年对社交媒体上瘾和产生依赖。诉讼称,“Meta利用强大且前所未有的技术来吸引、迎合并最终迷住青少年。其动机就是盈利。”
段二
The lawsuit seeks a variety of remedies, including substantial civil penalties. Meta said that it had sought to make teens safe online. “We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” Meta said in an email statement. Much of the focus on Meta stems from the release of documents in 2021 that revealed Meta had data showing that Instagram, which began as a photo-sharing app, was addictive and worsens body image issues for some teen girls.
lawsuit n. 诉讼,诉讼案;
seek vt. 寻找;寻求,谋求;请求(帮助),征求(意见);
remedy n. 解决方法,纠正方法;法定补偿(办法);治疗(法),药品;
civil penalty 民事罚款;
age-appropriate adj. 适龄的;
attorney general 司法部长;检察长;首席检察官;检察总长;
stem from 源于,来自于;1. Her interest in flowers stems from her childhood in the country. 她对花卉的兴趣产生于她在乡下度过的童年时代。
body image 身体形象;1. Many people struggle with their body image and feel insecure about their appearance. 许多人在身体形象方面感到困扰,对自己的外貌感到不安。
参考译文
该诉讼要求多种补救措施,其中包括巨额民事罚款。Meta表示一直在努力确保青少年的网络安全。Meta在一份电子邮件声明中说道:“我们感到失望的是,司法部长们选择了这条路,而不是与该行业各大公司进行有效合作,为青少年使用的众多应用程序制定明确的、适龄的标准。”对Meta的关注很大程度上源于2021年发布的文件,这些文件表明,Meta的数据显示,最初作为照片分享应用程序的Instagram令人上瘾,并使一些十几岁女孩的身体形象问题恶化。
段三
The lawsuit alleges that Meta strives to ensure that young people spend as much time as possible on social media despite knowing that teenage brains are susceptible to the need for approval in the form of “likes” from other users about their content. Meta deceptively denied publicly that its social media was harmful, the lawsuit said. Nine other states are expected to file similar lawsuits on Tuesday, bringing the total number of states suing to 42.
allege vt. (未经证实地)宣称,指控;
strive vi. 努力,力争;斗争,反抗;
susceptible adj. 易得病的,易受影响的;(人)易受感动的,易动感情的;
in the form of 以…的形式;
deceptively adv. 看似;不像看上去那么;比实际更显得;欺骗性的;造成假象的;
deny vt. 否认;拒绝承认;拒绝给予;
参考译文
该诉讼称,Meta努力确保年轻人在社交媒体上花费尽可能多的时间,尽管它知道青少年的大脑很容易受到其他用户对其内容“点赞”形式认可的影响。诉讼称,Meta欺骗性地公开否认其社交媒体的有害性。预计周二还有9个州也将提起类似诉讼,使得提起诉讼的州总共达到42个。
精听党每日单词
sue
 /suː/ vt.(为要求赔偿损失而)起诉,控告,和…打官司;
claim
 /kleɪm/ n. 声称,断言;
endanger
/ɪnˈdeɪndʒər/ vt. 使处于险境,危及;
complaint
 /kəmˈpleɪnt/ n. 抱怨,投诉;申诉;
file
 /faɪl/ vt.(把文件等)归档,存档;提起(诉讼),提出(申请);
federal
 /ˈfedərəl/ adj. 联邦(制)的;(与)联邦政府(有关的)的;
Oakland
 /ˈoʊklənd/ n. 奥克兰(美国加州西部城市);
repeatedly
 /rɪˈpiːtɪdli/ adv. 重复地,再三地;
mislead
 /ˌmɪsˈliːd/ vt. 误导,将…引入歧途;使产生错误想法(或印象);
substantial
/səbˈstænʃ(ə)l/ adj. 大量的,价值巨大的;牢固的,结实的;基本的,实质性的;
platform
 /ˈplætfɔːrm/ n. 平台;讲台,舞台;讲台上的人(the platform);(火车站的)月台;
knowingly
 /ˈnoʊɪŋli/ adv. 故意地;机警地,狡黠地;
induce
/ɪnˈduːs/ vt. 引诱,诱使;引起,导致;
compulsive
 /kəmˈpʌlsɪv/ adj. 难以抑制的,不能自拔的;引人入胜的;
harness
 /ˈhɑːrnɪs/ vt. 控制并利用;(把动物)拴在一起(或拴到某物上);
unprecedented
 /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ adj. 前所未有的,史无前例的;
entice
 /ɪnˈtaɪs/ vt. 诱使,引诱;
engage
 /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ/ vt. 雇用,聘请;参加,从事;吸引住(注意力、兴趣);
ultimately
 /ˈʌltɪmətli/ adv. 最终,最后;根本上,最重要地;
ensnare
 /ɪnˈsner/ vt. 诱捕;诱入陷阱;进入罗网;迷住;
motive
/ˈmoʊtɪv/ n. 动机,目的,原因;
lawsuit
 /ˈlɔːsuːt/ n. 诉讼,诉讼案;
seek
/siːk/ vt. 寻找;寻求,谋求;请求(帮助),征求(意见);
remedy
/ˈremədi/ n. 解决方法,纠正方法;法定补偿(办法);治疗(法),药品;
civil penalty
 民事罚款;
age-appropriate
 /eɪdʒ əˈproʊpriət/ adj. 适龄的;
attorney general
 司法部长;检察长;首席检察官;检察总长;
stem from
 源于,来自于;
body image
 身体形象;
allege
 /əˈledʒ/ vt. (未经证实地)宣称,指控;
strive
/straɪv/ vi. 努力,力争;斗争,反抗;
susceptible
 /səˈseptəb(ə)l/ adj. 易得病的,易受影响的;(人)易受感动的,易动感情的;
in the form of
 以…的形式;
deceptively
 /dɪˈseptɪvli/ adv. 看似;不像看上去那么;比实际更显得;欺骗性的;造成假象的;
deny
/dɪˈnaɪ/ vt. 否认;拒绝承认;拒绝给予;
精听党文化拓展
针对大型互联网公司的诉讼近年来正变得愈加频繁。
2023年1月,美国西雅图市学区提起了一项针对多家大型科技公司的诉讼,指责这些公司的产品导致青少年社交媒体成瘾,使得学校无法履行其教育使命,令学生遭受焦虑、抑郁和其它心理问题的折磨。
西雅图市学区表示,谷歌母公司Alphabet、Meta、Snap和Tik Tok母公司字节跳动应对在其平台上吸引青少年并造成心理健康危机的行为负责。该地区包括100多所学校,为大约50000名儿童提供教育。
这份针对包括Instagram、Facebook、YouTube、Snapchat和TikTok等应用的长达91页的起诉书称,这些社交媒体公司造成了公害,使青少年心理健康和行为障碍恶化,导致了青少年焦虑、抑郁、饮食失调和产生网络欺凌等问题,迫使学校不得不采取措施,如雇用更多的心理健康专业人士,制定有关社交媒体影响的课程计划等。
从法律依据来看,虽然美国联邦法律《通信礼仪法》第230条有助于保护网络公司不因第三方用户在其平台上发布的内容而承担责任,但该诉讼认为该条款并不能保护互联网巨头在此案中的行为。
诉讼中解释称:“原告并不指责被告对第三方在被告平台上的言论负责,而是指责被告自己的行为。被告推荐和推广了对青少年有害的内容,如支持厌食症和饮食失调的内容。”
据了解,西雅图市学区要求法院命令这些公司停止制造公害、赔偿损失,并为过度和有问题地使用社交媒体的预防教育和治疗支付费用。
精听党每日美句
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." - Albert Einstein
“不要试图成为一个成功的人,而是要努力成为一个有价值的人。”——阿尔贝特·爱因斯坦
到顶部