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Facebook VP wrote site's actions were 'de facto good' – even if they led to deaths

Zuckerberg says he disagrees with 2016 memo, which acknowledged site could cost lives or play role in terror attacks

‘We connect people. Period. That’s why all the work we do in growth is justified,’ the memo, by Andrew Bosworth, said. Photograph: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

A top Facebook executive warned in a leaked memo that the platform could lead to deaths and could help terrorists plan attacks, but argued that the negative outcomes were a reasonable byproduct of the company’s broader “growth tactics” and mission to “connect” people.

一名Facebook高管在一份泄露的备忘录中警告称，该平台可能导致死亡，并可能帮助恐怖分子策划袭击，但他辩称，负面结果是该公司更广泛的“增长策略”和“连接”人民的使命的合理副产品。

The public disclosure of the 2016 memo, in which a vice-president, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, wrote “anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good”, prompted the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to defend his company’s mission in a hastily released statement on Thursday.

在公开披露2016年备忘录的过程中，副总统安德鲁•博斯沃思•博斯沃思写道：“任何能让我们更频繁地联系到更多人的东西，都是事实上的好事。”这促使首席执行官马克•扎克伯格在周四匆忙发布的声明中为自己公司的使命辩护。

Zuckerberg said Facebook “never believed the ends justify the means” and said he strongly disagreed with the memo circulated by Bosworth, whom he described as a talented but provocative force in the company.

Bosworth wrote: “Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.” The memo, which provides an insight into the philosophy among some at the Silicon Valley giant, continued: “It is literally just what we do. We connect people. Period. That’s why all the work we do in growth is justified.”

The memo, published in full by BuzzFeed and confirmed by Facebook representatives, comes at a time when the technology corporation is battling significant backlash in the wake of reporting in the Observer and the Guardianrevealing that the personal information of 50 million users was used by the electioneering firm Cambridge Analytica.

The leaked memo – which implied that Facebook was pursuing growth at all costs and defended “questionable” data practices – prompted defensive statements on Thursday from Zuckerberg and Bosworth, who claimed that the memo was meant to be “provocative” and is out of line with the company’s values.

“Boz is a talented leader who says many provocative things. This was one that most people at Facebook including myself disagreed with strongly,” said Zuckerberg, who is currently facing intense scrutiny over the data scandal and is expected to soon testify before Congress. “We’ve never believed the ends justify the means. We recognize that connecting people isn’t enough by itself. We also need to work to bring people closer together. We changed our whole mission and company focus to reflect this last year.”

博兹是一位才华横溢的领袖，他说了很多挑衅的事情。扎克伯格说：“这是Facebook上的大多数人，包括我本人在内的很多人都强烈反对的。”他目前正面临着有关数据丑闻的严格审查，预计很快就会在国会作证。“我们从来没有相信过这种方法的目的是正当的。我们认识到，人与人之间的联系是不够的。我们还需要努力使人们更紧密地团结在一起。我们改变了我们的整个使命和公司的重点，以反映去年的情况。”

Bosworth said in his statement on Thursday: “I don’t agree with the post today and I didn’t agree with it even when I wrote it.” He argued that the intent of the memo was to “bring to the surface issues I felt deserved more discussion”, adding: “I care deeply about how our product affects people and I take very personally the responsibility I have to make that impact positive.”

The memo, however, had a very different tone, arguing that the harms caused by Facebook were just a part of its business: “The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good.”

He also wrote that all growth efforts are justified, adding: “All the questionable contact importing practices. All the subtle language that helps people stay searchable by friends. All of the work we do to bring more communication in. The work we will likely have to do in China some day. All of it.”

The memo was titled “The Ugly” and argued that the strategies to bring as many people as possible to the platform were essential to the company.

“The natural state of the world is not connected. It is not unified. It is fragmented by borders, languages, and increasingly by different products. The best products don’t win. The ones everyone use win,” he wrote. “I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this. Most of us have the luxury of working in the warm glow of building products consumers love. But make no mistake, growth tactics are how we got here.”

He continued: “We do have great products but we still wouldn’t be half our size without pushing the envelope on growth. Nothing makes Facebook as valuable as having your friends on it, and no product decisions have gotten as many friends on as the ones made in growth.”

In recent years, there has been growing evidence of societal problems linked to Facebook’s massive expansion. The platform’s groups function, for example, has been used to unite extremists, neo-Nazis, far-right groups and others promoting hate speech and seeking to influence elections and political discourse.

近年来，越来越多的证据表明，Facebook的大规模扩张导致了社会问题。例如，该平台的组织功能已经被用来联合极端分子、新纳粹分子、极右翼团体和其他煽动仇恨言论的团体，并试图影响选举和政治言论。

There are also escalating concerns about Facebook’s impact on democracies across the globe following revelations that Russian interference campaigns exploited the platform and that Facebook has helped violent and oppressive governments while spreading misinformation and propaganda.

此外，人们对Facebook在全球范围内的影响也越来越感到担忧。此前有消息称，俄罗斯的干预活动利用了Facebook平台，Facebook在传播错误信息和宣传信息的同时，帮助了暴力和压迫政府。

雅思阅读高频词汇：

justify 证明

escalat 不断升级的

democracy 民主

interference 干扰

propaganda 宣传

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