调查报道 | 谷歌如何操纵政治？
Revealed: how Google enlisted members of US Congress it bankrolled to fight $6bn EU antitrust case
卫报的“深度”调查主要基于四点发现。
谷歌雇佣大量游说集团。
谷歌间接资助了有利于自己的学术项目。
谷歌高层试图与欧洲领导人私下交易。
谷歌试图通过美国议会间接影响欧洲政策。
仔细想想，任何大公司都会做和谷歌一样的事——虽说谷歌自恃清高，鞭策自己Don't be evil。
《卫报》啰里八嗦的大块文章又不乏表面下的精彩。其一，表面上说谷歌不地道，却暗指在欧洲和谷歌作对的也是美国公司，且都是些“有情怀”的人。瞧瞧，爱做慈善的盖茨和扎克伯格，其实更爱给欧洲政客做慈善。
第二，以巴罗佐为代表的欧洲政治的昏聩腐败。表面上讽刺金钱至上的美国人永远不懂欧洲人对自由的热爱，实则揭示了欧盟政治和华盛顿的纸牌屋一丘之貉。背景是啥？背景是英国正吵吵着要退出欧盟呢。那么，英国报刊的“客观”调查实在是别有深意呢。
说正面有点，和咱们“愤慨驳斥”西方的手法相比，这是比较高级的议题设置，也不失为一篇有分量的参考调查报道。
Google enlisted members of the US congress, whose election campaigns it had funded, to pressure the to drop a €6bn antitrust case which threatens to decimate the US tech firm’s business in Europe.
谷歌资助美国议员参与竞选，促使欧盟放弃60亿欧元的反托拉斯控诉，后者可能肢解这家美国技术公司在欧洲的生意。
招募。To enlist is to voluntarily join the military. You may have seen television commercials or posters encouraging people to enlist.
例句：Gura tried unsuccessfully to enlist the help of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to extend Scullin’s assignment retroactively — a request Roberts denied. （Washington Post）
大幅削减。If something is drastically reduced or killed, especially in number, you can say it was decimated.
例句：The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico decimated the wildlife along the coast.
The coordinated effort by senators and members of the House of Representatives, as well as by a congressional committee, formed part of a sophisticated, multimillion-pound lobbying drive in Brussels, which Google has significantly ramped up as it fends off challenges to its dominance in .
参众两院议员及一个国会委员会的共同努力，构成了布鲁塞尔一个数亿英镑计的复杂的游说行动。为抵挡对其在欧洲市场优势的挑战，谷歌发起了这一行动。
增强。
例句： It has ramped up air strikes against ISIS, targeting the militant group’s leaders and their oil production operations.
避免。
例句：For China and other emerging market economies, the right response isn’t to recalibrate monetary policy or instituting capital controls to fend off volatility. （Wall Street Journal）
An investigation by the Guardian into Google’s multifaceted lobbying campaign in Europe has uncovered fresh details of its activities and methods. Based on documents obtained under a freedom of information request and a series of interviews with EU officials, MEPs and Brussels lobbyists, the investigation has also found:
《卫报》对谷歌在欧洲的组合式游说行动进行了调查，发现了这些行动和方法的全新细节。基于信息自由获得的文件及对欧盟官员、欧洲议会议员和布鲁塞尔游说者进行的一系列采访，调查发现：
• Google’s co-founder and CEO Larry Page met the then chief privately in California in spring 2014 and raised the antitrust case despite being warned by EU officials that it would be inappropriate to do so.
2014年春，谷歌联合创始人、首席执行官拉里·佩奇与时任欧洲委员会主席私下会晤中提及了反托拉斯诉讼，此前欧盟官员发出警告表示此言不宜。
• Officials and lawmakers in Brussels say they have witnessed a significant expansion of lobbying efforts over the past 18 months as the company faces increased scrutiny of its business activities in Europe.
布鲁塞尔官员和议员表示谷歌在过去18个月面临更严格的公司行为审查，其游说努力也显著增强。
• Google has employed several former EU officials as in-house lobbyists, and has funded European thinktanks and university research favourable to its position as part of its broader campaign.
谷歌雇佣前欧盟官员为其内部说客，资助欧洲智库和大学进行对其有利的研究。
Capitol Hill’s aggressive intervention in Brussels came as the European parliament prepared to vote through a resolution in November 2014 that called on EU policymakers to consider .
2014年11月，欧洲议会准备对决议投票时，美国国会强势干预布鲁塞尔政治，该决议呼吁欧盟政策制定者将谷歌的在线业务分成不同的公司。
Republican and Democratic senators and congressmen, many of whom have received significant campaign donations from Google totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaned on parliament in a series of similar – and in some cases identical – letters sent to key MEPs.
很多共和党和民主党参议员及众议员收受谷歌数十万计的选举捐助，他们向重要的欧洲议员发出相似甚至相同的信函，胁迫欧洲议会。
施加影响、胁迫。
例句：The gansters were leaning on local storekeepers to pay them protection money.
In another letter, the US House judiciary committee wrote to MEPs concerning the antitrust case against Google. The committee’s chairman, Bob Goodlatte, said the committee was “troubled to learn” some MEPs were “encouraging antitrust enforcement efforts that appear to be motivated by politics” that would ultimately undermine free markets.
在美国众议院司法委员会写给欧盟涉及谷歌诉讼的议员的一封信中，委员会主席Bob Goodlatte说，该委员会“不快地得知”个别欧洲议员试图“出于政治原因而推动反托拉斯”，这终将破坏自由市场。
Google has consistently donated to Goodlatte’s election campaigns, while members on the judiciary committee that he chairs collectively received more than $200,000 (£133,000) from the company during the 2014 election cycle.
谷歌一直以来对Goodlatte进行竞选捐助，2014年的选举中，他主持的司法委员会的议员总共收取谷歌20万美元献金。
Google declined to comment on the letters or its ties to the committee, including the fact one of its senior lawyers in Washington had joined the firm straight from the judiciary committee where he served as an antitrust counsel to its Republican members. A spokeswoman for the committee did not respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment.
谷歌拒绝对信函及其与委员会的关系做出评论，包括谷歌一名在华盛顿的高级律师加入了司法委员会下属的一家公司，他是共和党议员的反托拉斯顾问。委员会发言人也未应《卫报》要求作出任何评论。
Google’s expansion of its lobbying activities in Brussels has come in response to a growing number of threats to its business in the EU, where it dominates about 90% of the search market. It argues that its rivals lobby just as hard against it, if not harder.
谷歌增强了在布鲁塞尔的游说活动，因为其生意在欧盟遭遇的日益增多的威胁。在欧洲，谷歌占有90%的搜索市场。谷歌认为，其对手同样在大力游说，就算不比谷歌更甚。
In April, a long-running antitrust investigation came to a head when the newly installed EU competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, formally accused Google of abusing its market dominance by systematically favouring its shopping price-comparison service.
4月，一项拖延日久的反托拉斯调查到了关键时刻，新任命的欧盟竞争专员Margrethe Vestager正式起诉谷歌滥用市场支配地位，系统性偏袒其购物比价服务。
Google, which could face a heavy fine of more than €6bn (£4.3bn) if found guilty, as “wrong as a matter of fact, law and economics”. But this is only one of the battles Google is fighting in Brussels.
如果认定罪名成立，谷歌将面临高达60亿欧元罚款。谷歌将Vestager的指控斥为“在事实、法律和经济方面都是错误的”。但这只是谷歌在布鲁塞尔要打的众多战争之一。
The European commission has also launched a separate competition investigation into Google’s mobile operating system, Android, and indicated additional inquiries are being considered.
欧洲委员会另外对谷歌移动运营系统安卓展开竞争调查，表示正在考虑是否开展更多调查。
This follows the symbolic blow MEPs dealt the US company late last year with the so-called “unbundling” resolution.
去年年底，欧洲议员对谷歌进行了象征性的打击，通过了所谓的“分拆”决议。
Under pressure to defend itself, Google has opened its cheque book. Last year, the company spent more than twice as much on lobbying in Brussels than Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter and Uber combined.
谷歌必须进行自辩，于是就打开了支票簿。去年，公司在布鲁塞尔游说的投入比苹果、Facebook、雅虎、Twitter和Uber加起来的两倍还多。
Yet Google is still being outspent by Microsoft, which some in Brussels suspect is backing a vocal anti-Google lobby in Brussels. Microsoft declined to comment.
但谷歌的花费可能仍赶不上微软，有人怀疑微软正支持布鲁塞尔声势浩大的反谷歌游说。微软拒绝对此作出评价。
Official transparency data shows Google has increased its annual lobbying spending from €600,000 in 2011 to almost €4m last year. In addition to its team of in-house lobbyists – many of whom have come from jobs in the commission or the European parliament – the company has employed eight European lobbying firms.
官方透明度数据显示谷歌的年度游说开支从2011年的60万欧元增长到去年的近400万欧元。除去议会内的游说者，他们都供职于欧洲委员会或欧洲议会，谷歌还雇佣了八家欧洲游说公司。
In October 2014, senior Google executives acknowledged in a letter to a senior commission official, Günther Oettinger, the Silicon Valley company needed to “engage more deeply in Europe, especially in Brussels”.
2014年10月，谷歌高级总裁在一封写给欧洲委员会官员Gunther Oettinger的信中承认，这家硅谷的公司需要“更加深入接触欧洲，尤其在布鲁塞尔”。
This strategy is borne out by records of meetings with the commission. Between December 2014 and June 2015, Google held more high-level meetings with commission officials than any other company.
谷歌与欧洲委员会的众多会议证实了这一战略。2014年12月至2015年6月间，谷歌与欧洲委员会召开的高级别会议比任何其他公司都多。
Google sympathisers accept it is lobbying hard, but suggest no company would sit back and not ensure its side of the story is being heard when so much is at stake, especially when claimants in the antitrust case have formed well-funded lobby groups to fight the firm.
谷歌的同情者承认游说确实很凶，可没有公司会束手就擒，没有公司不想方设法传播自己的立场——毕竟这事关生死，尤其考虑到反托拉斯案中的主诉者也组成了财力雄厚的游说集团打击公司。
One such group, ICOMP, receives funding from numerous complainants in the antitrust case, including Microsoft, and is closely associated with Burson-Marsteller, a large public relations firm .
在反托拉斯案中，ICOMP集团接受了众多原告的资助，包括微软，并与Burson-Marsteller有密切关系，后者是一家公关公司，Facebook曾付费让其发布谷歌的负面新闻。
Latest data shows ICOMP spent €400,000 on lobbying in Brussels between 2013-14. It does not disclose how much it spent on legal costs incurred in connection with the case against Google.
最近的数据显示，2013年到2014年间，ICOMP在布鲁塞尔花费40万欧元用于游说。公司没有透露多少用来支付谷歌案件导致的法律成本。
One senior EU official speaking on condition of anonymity said Google’s lobbying in Brussels stood out because of the intricate, often subtle yet powerful mechanisms it employs.
一名不愿透露姓名的欧盟高级官员表示谷歌在布鲁塞尔的游说引人注目，因为它运用了复杂微妙却强大的机制。
“What is striking is the comprehensive and strategic approach they have. They are not only doing PR but they are doing everything. They are using proxies, which is much more powerful than just the usual stuff,” he told the Guardian.
“令人吃惊的是他们全面的战略性手段。他们不仅做公关，他们无所不为。他们运用代理人，这比一般的方式更厉害。”他对《卫报》说。
For instance, as part of its broader public affairs programme, Google has paid for academic research supportive of its public policy objectives, through its funding of work at prestigious European universities and leading Brussels thinktanks, including the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the Bruegel Institute.
例如，作为广义公关项目的一部分，谷歌通过资助享有盛名的欧洲大学和顶级欧盟智库，为支持其公共政策目标的学术研究埋单，包括欧洲政策研究中心和布鲁塞尔学会等。
A spokesman for the US tech firm said European politicians had “many questions for Google and about the internet”. To help answer those questions, he added, Google sometimes commissioned independent research, but always asked the academics to disclose funding they received from the company.
谷歌的一名发言人说欧洲政客“对谷歌和互联网有许多问题”。为解答这些问题，谷歌有时会资助独立研究，但总是让学术机构公开他们从公司得到的资助。
Olivier Hoedeman, a research and campaign coordinator at and a seasoned observer of Brussels’s lobbying scene, characterised the company’s efforts as unprecedented in both its spending and textured lobbying techniques.
Olivier Hoedeman是企业欧洲观测站的研究与活动协调员，布鲁塞尔游说场的资深观察者。他认为谷歌的这种行为在体量和技巧上都是史无前例的。
“Google has in an unprecedented manner stepped up their Brussels lobbying efforts during the last few years, massively increasing their spending on lobbying and on other activities in a very comprehensive and multifaceted lobbying campaign aimed at influencing the European commission’s decisions,” he said.
“谷歌过去几年加强了在欧洲的游说，这是史无前例的。他大幅度增加游说支出，并使用全角度、多层次的游说方式，旨在影响欧洲委员会的决定。
Among MEPs, this became particularly apparent in November last year when the European parliament voted yes to the motion to break up Google’s search business from its advertising and other businesses.
去年11月，这在欧洲议员中显而易见，当时欧洲议会投票决定将谷歌的搜索业务与广告和其他业务分拆。
“At the time of the November parliamentary session, Google’s lobby activity clearly stepped up in a way that we have never seen before,” said Ramon Tremosa, a Spanish MEP from Catalonia involved in putting forward the unbundling resolution.
“11月议会召开时，谷歌的游说行为显著增强，以前从没有这样过。”来自加泰罗尼亚的西班牙议员Ramon Tremosa这样说。他提出了“分拆”决议。
Tremosa said that during the week of the vote Google’s Brussels-based lobbyists were joined by its public affairs officers for each of the 28 EU-member states in filling the corridors of parliament.
Tremosa说在投票的当周，谷歌的欧盟游说者和公关人员一道，在议会走廊对28个欧盟成员国展开游说。
Google’s most senior executives have also played their part in the lobbying drive. In May 2014, with less than six months to persuade the commission to abandon the antitrust action before a change in leadership at Europe’s executive arm, Google co-founder Larry Page met the then commission president, José Manuel Barroso, at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
谷歌的高管也在游说行动中发挥作用。2014年5月，劝说欧洲委员会放弃反托拉斯行动不足六个月，欧洲政府要更换领导人了，谷歌联合创始人拉里·佩奇在加利福尼亚山景城总部会晤了欧洲委员会主席巴罗佐。
Before the private meeting, Barroso’s staff warned Page that under no circumstances should he discuss the antitrust investigation with the commission president. But Page was running out of time.
私人会晤前，巴罗佐的幕僚警告佩奇在任何情况下都不要与主席讨论反托拉斯调查。但佩奇等不及了。
A letter sent by Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, to Barroso months later shows the case was discussed. Page told Barroso Google could implement a new set of commitments designed to allay fears about European rivals being unable to compete with it. For an hour, the commission president sat and listened.
谷歌执行主席埃里克·施密特几个月后给巴罗佐的信中显示他们讨论了这一话题。佩奇告诉巴罗佐谷歌可以执行一套新方案，缓解欧洲竞争者对无法与谷歌竞争的恐惧。整整一个小时，欧洲委员会主席洗耳恭听。
“We loved having you in Mountain View and I enjoyed our discussion tremendously,” Page later wrote to Barroso. “Next time you’re in the Valley please come and visit again.”
后来佩奇给巴罗佐写信称：“我们对您莅临山景城感到荣幸，我非常喜欢和您的讨论。下次来到硅谷，请再来做客。”
The timing of the meeting, according to Hoederman, was “very awkward” as the European commission was weighing the antitrust case against the company.
Hoederman说，会晤的时机“很尴尬”，当时欧洲委员会正对公司提起反托拉斯案。
“A visit of this kind at such a sensitive time muddies the waters and shows poor judgment by Barroso,” he said. “It would have been understandable if the EU’s competition policy officials felt that Barroso’s visit risked undermining their integrity of the investigation.”
“在敏感时刻的会晤搅了浑水，这说明巴罗佐有多昏庸。如果欧盟竞争政策官员觉得巴罗佐的访问涉嫌破坏调查公正性，这是可以理解的。”
Julia Reda, a Green MEP from Germany, noted: “This is not the first time there have been reports of Google trying to influence the outcome of the commission’s antitrust investigation through high-level interventions.
德国的绿党欧洲议员Julia Reda称：“这不是谷歌第一次试图通过高层干预，影响欧洲委员会反托拉斯调查结果。”
“As it is difficult to tell what is going on behind closed doors, I am not in a position to judge whether the communication between the commission and Google during this competition inquiry has been atypical, though it certainly raises questions.”
“你很难知道闭门会晤中发生了什么。我并没有说欧洲委员会和谷歌对竞争调查进行交流是不寻常的，尽管这的确引发很多问题。”
A spokesman for the commission defended its dealings with Google. “In line with its normal procedures, the commission’s antitrust investigation into Google’s business practices has been handled in an open and transparent way,” he said.
欧洲委员会发言人为自己辩护。“委员会根据正常程序，对谷歌业务的反托拉斯调查以公开透明的方式进行。”
In September 2014, with the clocking ticking and less than a month before Barroso stepped down, Schmidt joined in the lobbying of Barroso, having previously left the task to Google’s chief in-house lobbyists in Brussels.
2014年9月，距巴罗佐下台不到一个月了，时不我待，施密特也开始游说巴罗佐，此前这项工作一直由谷歌在欧盟议会的游说者进行。
In a last-ditch attempt to change the course of the antitrust case, Schmidt asked Barroso to lean on his commissioners to approve the proposed settlement. Calling it a “crucial stage in the process”, Schmidt warned in pointed language that a failure to approve the settlement would undermine the commission’s credibility and result in “drawn-out litigation”.
施密特为改变反托拉斯案走向而最后一搏，他要求巴罗佐迫使委员批准其提议的解决方案。施密特称这是“关键阶段”，用严厉的语言警告说，不成功，就会影响欧洲委员会的信誉，将导致“久拖不决的诉讼”。
Less than a week later, the commission , dealing Google a major setback. In a surprise move, it rejected Google’s third settlement offer following “very, very negative” responses from complainants to the proposed settlement.
不到一周后，欧洲委员会重启反托拉斯调查，让谷歌遭遇挫折。委员会拒绝了谷歌第三个解决方案，此前原告对此反应“非常非常负面”。
After changes in leadership at the European commission in November 2014, Google’s lobbyists in Brussels have become increasingly frustrated.
2014年11月欧洲委员会易主，谷歌在布鲁塞尔的游说者备受挫折。
Documents show the company’s repeated attempts to set up meetings with senior commission officials including the president, Jean-Claude Juncker, have thus far been unsuccessful.
文件显示公司反复努力与高级官员会晤，包括主席容克在内，但迄今从未成功。
In one instance, Google requested a meeting with a senior adviser to Juncker shortly after the commission formally issued its antitrust case. However, her assistant bluntly declined the request and directed them to the new competition commissioner, Vestager.
有一次，谷歌在欧洲委员会正是签署了反托拉斯案后要求与容克的高级顾问会晤。然而助手干脆地拒绝了请求，让他去找新的竞争专员Vestager。
There is a feeling among some EU officials that Google may have underestimated the strict legal procedures that dictate how antitrust cases progress in Europe.
欧洲官员感觉谷歌低估了欧洲反托拉斯案运转的严格法律程序。
However, others say the US firm’s mistake has more to do with underestimating the influence of an “anti-Google lobby”, backed by the likes of Microsoft and German media empire Axel Springer.
然而，但另有人认为谷歌的错误更在于低估了反谷歌游说集团的影响，后者是微软和德国传媒帝国Axel Springer策动的。
In the US, Google saw off a potentially damaging antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, which dropped its case in early 2013. But the landscape in Brussels differs from that in Washington, where Google enjoys more clout and personal connections with the .
在美国，谷歌结束了联邦贸易委员会可能提起的反托拉斯调查，后者在2013年早些时候放弃了调查。可布鲁塞尔的情况和华盛顿不同，谷歌在美国影响力更大，和高层的个人关系更好。
John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog in the US, believes Google has been successful at positioning itself in and around the corridors of power in Washington. “They’re masters at it and it’s worked very, very well for them,” he said.
美国消费者监管机构的John Simpson认为谷歌在华盛顿的议会中实力不俗。“他们擅长此道，干得不错。”
But he claims Europe’s acceptance of Google’s size, power and dominance is less than what it is in the US. “I think there may be a failure to understand the European perspective on certain issues,” he said, “I don’t think that they at the core understand how privacy is viewed as a fundamental right in Europe.”
可他认为欧洲能接受的比美国低——体量、权力以及支配地位。“可能没能理解欧洲在某些问题上的立场。我觉得他们不懂隐私对欧洲人而言有多么重要。”
Alarmingly for Google, its investors are beginning to wake up to the trouble it faces in Brussels. Scott Kessler, an equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ who watches Google closely, said many investors had become apathetic about the charges levelled against the company, but the mood is beginning to change.
谷歌的投资人开始意识到在欧洲遇到的麻烦。标准普尔资本IQ的证券分析师Scott Kessler说许多投资者对指控无动于衷，可气氛开始改变了。
“Google have been facing these issues in Europe for a number of years and some people believe that now is the time that they will have to account for some of these actions in some way,” he said.
“谷歌在欧洲的问题持续数年了，有人认为现在谷歌不得不以某种方式对某些事负责。”
Once again the clock is ticking for Google. Vestager is treating her investigations as a high priority and EU regulators will actively pursue its new parent company, Alphabet, on multiple fronts.
谷歌的时间又不多了。Vestager高度重视这些调查，她指出欧盟监管者会积极在多个阵线上和谷歌新成立的母公司Alphabet作战。