Facebook faces a potential fine after Brussels accused the social network of misleading it

布鲁塞尔方面指责Facebook在其190亿美元收购WhatsApp的监管审批过程中进行误导。

during the approval process of its $19bn takeover of WhatsApp.

这意味着这家社交网络可能面临罚款。

In a statement of objections, the European Commission charged the ¬Silicon Valley group with inaccurately¹ claiming during the 2014 takeover that it was technically³ impossible to combine user information from Facebook and WhatsApp automatically.

欧盟委员会(European Commission)在一份反对声明中指控，这家硅谷集团在2014年收购期间不准确地声称在技术上不可能自动合并Facebook和WhatsApp的用户信息。

Facebook sprang a surprise this year by linking WhatsApp phone numbers with identities on its Facebook service in a change that sparked complaints from users, regulators and rivals.

Facebook今年突然将WhatsApp电话号码与其在Facebook服务上的对应身份联系起来，这一改变引发了用户、监管机构和竞争对手的抱怨。

The charges mark the boldest reaction by EU authorities to the move.

这些指控标志着欧盟当局对Facebook上述举动作出的最大胆的反应。

Data protection agencies across the EU had already attacked the decision, demanding further information, prompting Facebook to halt the process in Europe.

欧盟各数据保护机构已对该决定作出攻击，要求提供进一步信息，促使Facebook在欧洲停止数据合并进程。

Margrethe Vestager, EU competition chief, said: Companies are obliged to give the commission accurate information during merger⁴ investigations⁶.

欧盟竞争事务专员玛格丽特.维斯特格(Margrethe Vestager)表示：企业有义务在并购调查期间向欧盟委员会提供准确的信息。

They must take this obligation seriously.

他们必须认真对待这项义务。

Brussels allowed the deal with no ¬conditions attached, in part because of Facebook’s insistence⁷ that it was not able to combine user accounts.

布鲁塞尔在没有附加条件的情况下批准了这笔交易，部分是因为Facebook坚称自己无法合并用户账户。

Facebook said it had behaved properly in the process.

Facebook表示，其在审批过程中行为恰当。

We respect the commission’s process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith.

我们尊重欧盟委员会的审批过程，并深信对事实的全面审议将证实Facebook是诚信行事的。

Although the commission said it would not reverse its decision to approve the deal, it made clear that EU rules allowed fines of up to 1 per cent of global turnover⁸ in such cases — which would be roughly $125m, based on Facebook’s 2014 annual revenues.

虽然欧盟委员会表示不会逆转批准该交易的决定，但明确指出欧盟规则允许在这种情况下收取至多相当于全球营业额1%的罚款，基于Facebook 2014年收入，罚款金额大约是1.25亿美元。

The charges come after a string of competition cases that have ensnared Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.

在Facebook受到指控之前，一连串竞争案件已使谷歌(Google)、亚马逊(Amazon)、苹果(Apple)和微软(Microsoft)面临法律麻烦。

These have sparked a diplomatic stand-off between Brussels and Washington, which has accused the EU of singling out US businesses.

此类案件引发了布鲁塞尔和华盛顿之间的外交对峙，后者指责欧盟专门跟美国企业过不去。

Facebook had largely avoided becoming ensnared in this regulatory tussle⁹.

Facebook此前基本上避免了受到此类监管纠纷牵连。

While data protection authorities across Europe have pursued Facebook over privacy issues, the EU’s executive arm had broadly steered¹⁰ clear of the social network.

虽然欧洲各地的数据保护部门都在就隐私问题追究Facebook的责任，但欧盟执行机构大体上未理会这家社交网络公司。

Facebook notified EU officials of the planned changes to its privacy policy in January, seven months before they were announced publicly.

今年1月，Facebook曾向欧盟官员报告，该公司计划修改隐私政策，7个月后这些政策才被公开宣布。

The company said the decision was primarily taken to help it compile data, such as on user numbers, more accurately², rather than serve targeted ads.

该公司表示，做出这一决定主要是为了更精确地汇编用户数量等数据，而并非为了投放定向广告。

But the decision triggered immediate¹¹ concern among regulators.

但这一决定立即引发了监管机构的担忧。

This year, Ms Vestager warned: That they didn’t merge⁵ data wasn’t the decisive factor when the merger was approved, but it was still a part of the decision.

维斯特格今年曾警告称：合并获批时，他们所谓的不合并数据虽然不是决定因素，但仍是该决定的一部分。

Facebook said: We’ve consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities¹² and plans, including in submissions¹³ about the WhatsApp acquisition and in voluntary briefings before WhatsApp’s privacy policy update this year.

Facebook表示：我们持之以恒地提供关于我司技术能力和计划的准确信息，包括收购WhatsApp时提交材料以及在WhatsApp隐私政策今年更新前自愿提供简报。