Google+數十萬用戶數據曾暴露在外 谷歌一度選擇隱瞞

Google exposed the private data of hundreds of thousands of users of the Google+ social network and then opted not to disclose the issue this past spring, in part because of fears that doing so would draw regulatory scrutiny and cause reputational damage, according to people briefed on the incident and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

據知情人士和《華爾街日報》見到的文件，谷歌曾暴露數十萬Google+社交網絡用戶的私人數據，並在今年春季選擇不披露這個問題，原因之一是擔憂這樣做會招致監管審查，並造成聲譽受損。

As part of its response to the incident, the Alphabet Inc. unit announced a sweeping set of data privacy measures that include permanently shutting down all consumer functionality of Google+.

作爲對該事件的一個迴應，這家Alphabet Inc. 旗下子公司日前宣佈了一系列數據隱私措施，其中包括永久性關閉Google+的所有消費者功能。

The move effectively puts the final nail in the coffin of a product that was launched in 2011 to challenge Facebook Inc. and is widely seen as one of Google's biggest failures.

這一舉動實際上是對2011年推出的這款旨在挑戰Facebook Inc.產品的致命一擊，該產品被廣泛視爲谷歌最大的敗筆之一。

A software glitch in the social site gave outside developers potential access to private Google+ profile data between 2015 and March 2018, when internal investigators discovered and fixed the issue, according to the documents and people briefed on the incident.

據《華爾街日報》見到的文件和知情人士透露，該社交網站上的一個軟件漏洞讓外部開發者有可能在2015年至2018年3月期間獲得Google+私人資料數據，2018年3月內部調查人員發現並解決了這個問題。

A memo reviewed by the Journal prepared by Google's legal and policy staff and shared with senior executives warned that disclosing the incident would likely trigger "immediate regulatory interest" and invite comparisons to Facebook's leak of user information to data firm Cambridge Analytica.

《華爾街日報》見到的由谷歌法律和政策工作人員撰寫並與高管分享的一份備忘錄警告稱，披露這一事件可能會“立即引發監管關注”，並被與Facebook向數據公司Cambridge Analytica泄漏用戶信息一事進行比較。

Chief Executive Sundar Pichai was briefed on the plan not to notify users after an internal committee had reached that decision, the people said.

知情人士稱，在一個內部委員會做出決定後，谷歌首席執行長桑達爾·皮查伊聽取了有關不通知用戶計劃的簡報。

The closure of Google+ is part of a broader review of privacy practices by Google that has determined the company needs tighter controls on several major products, the people said.

知情人士稱，Google+關閉計劃是谷歌對隱私做法進行廣泛評估的一部分，該評估確認了該公司需要加強對幾種主要產品的控制。

In its announcement, the company said it is curtailing the access it gives outside developers to user data on Android smartphones and Gmail.

在發表的聲明中，谷歌稱將限制外部開發者訪問安卓智能手機和Gmail的用戶數據的權限。