衝出合圍 谷歌用軟實力對付歐盟

Google has not had an easy recent run in Brussels.

最近，谷歌(Google)在布魯塞爾的日子不好過。

In early September, the competition commission threw back the search engine’s proposals to settle its long-running antitrust case. Then, the EU’s incoming digital commissioner warned the company of increased scrutiny from regulators.

9月初，歐盟(EU)競爭委員會否決了這家搜索引擎就其曠日持久的反壟斷案提交的和解方案。接着，歐盟新任數字專員警告該公司，監管機構將對其加大審查力度。

Before that, the EU’s “right to be forgotten” left Google with the onerous task of removing search results if someone requested it.

在此之前，歐盟裁定的“被遺忘權”(right to be forgotten)讓谷歌背上了一項艱鉅的任務：如果有人要求刪除搜索結果，谷歌需要照做。

These setbacks have come despite Google increasing its lobbying efforts and launching a charm offensive in Brussels and national capitals across Europe, as the US technology group wrestles with the reality of life as a $400bn company in an increasingly strictly regulated sector.

儘管谷歌加大了遊說努力，並在歐盟和歐洲各國首都發動了魅力攻勢，卻仍連連受挫。作爲一個監管日益嚴格的行業中一家市值4000億美元的企業，這家美國科技集團正在艱難應對嚴酷的現實。

The group is believed to have more than doubled the amount it spends on EU lobbying since 2011. It spent roughly 1.5m lobbying EU institutions in 2013, according to the European Transparency Register, a voluntary register that tracks what businesses spend on lobbying European institutions, an increase from the 600,000 it spent in 2011.

據信，自2011年以來，谷歌在遊說歐盟方面的支出增長了不止一倍。根據專門追蹤企業在歐洲遊說支出的European Transparency Register的數據，2013年，谷歌斥資約150萬歐元用於遊說歐盟機構，高於2011年的60萬歐元。

In the US, where rules on the disclosure of lobbying are stricter, technology groups report far higher spending on lobbying. Google, for example, spent $8.85m in the first half of 2014 alone in the US – nearly four times what it said that it spent lobbying the EU for the whole of 2013.

在遊說披露規定更爲嚴格的美國，科技集團公佈的遊說支出要高得多。例如，單單今年上半年，谷歌在美國的遊說支出就高達885萬美元，是2013年全年該公司公佈的歐盟遊說支出的近4倍。

Google declined to comment on this article. But its efforts in Europe are part of its “soft power” approach towards influencing policy makers.

谷歌拒絕就此置評。但其在歐洲的舉措是旨在影響政策制定者的“軟實力”戰略的一部分。

The Financial Times has spoken to several people with knowledge of how the company has built an operation worth tens of millions of dollars and focused on Brussels. It has learnt from peers, such as Microsoft, which waged its own battles with the EU in the 1990s and early 2000s and was fined a total of 2bn between 1993 and 2013. Where the Seattle group adopted an aggressive approach towards European regulators, Google has employed a “soft power” strategy using private lobbying, philanthropic initiatives and public events to try to influence policy makers.

據悉谷歌投入數千萬美元設立了一項專注於布魯塞爾的業務，英國《金融時報》記者曾與幾位知情人士交談過。谷歌從同行身上吸取了教訓，比如微軟(Microsoft)在上世紀90年代和本世紀初與歐盟爭鬥不休，1993年至2013年總共被處以20億歐元的罰金。總部位於西雅圖的微軟以強硬的態度應對歐洲監管者，谷歌則採取了“軟實力”戰略，試圖利用私下游說、慈善項目和公共活動影響政策制定者。

“In Europe, the spectre of what happened to Microsoft is always in people’s mind at Google. They are the study of how not to do things,” said one insider. “Instead, a lot of time is spent behind closed doors talking to the right people.”

“在歐洲，谷歌人始終牢記着微軟的遭遇。這教會他們不要做什麼，”一位內部人士表示，“很多時間被用在與合適的人閉門交談。”

Jan Philipp Albrecht, a Green MEP from Germany who has campaigned vociferously on digital privacy and been a public critic of the company, agreed. “Google learned from these mistakes,” he said.

來自德國的歐洲議會綠黨議員揚•菲利普•亞伯雷希(Jan Philipp Albrecht)同意這點，他表示：“谷歌從這些錯誤中吸取了教訓。”他曾經大張旗鼓地發起維護數字隱私的活動，而且一直公開批評谷歌。

“The difference between Google and the others is that on a personal level they are very nice and reasonable. It makes them look a reasonable partner.”

“谷歌與其他企業的不同之處在於從個人來講，他們非常友好和通情達理。這讓他們看上去是不錯的合作伙伴。”

According to two people familiar with Google’s operations, the company is able to open doors at the highest levels of European government, but the “direction of traffic” is not one-way. Politicians are often eager to associate themselves with Google, with lawmakers often requesting meetings with its executives rather than the other way round.

據兩名瞭解谷歌業務的人士稱，谷歌能夠敲開歐洲政府最高層的大門，但這種交流並非是單向的。政治人士往往喜歡與谷歌爲伍，議員們經常要求與該公司高管會晤，而不是反過來。

“You see this all round Europe and the US, in politics and opinion leadership. They travel to Silicon Valley, meet up with these companies,” said Mr Albrecht. Politicians “want to be part of such a successful movement and gain some of their limelight and coolness”.

亞伯雷希表示：“在歐洲和美國，在政界和輿論領袖那裏，這種情況比比皆是。他們會訪問硅谷，與這些公司的高管會面。”政治人士“希望融入這股成功的潮流，並獲得一些關注。”

Others said that the company has tried to build bridges with European countries by helping to fund philanthropic projects in line with the aims of government.

還有一些人表示，谷歌通過爲一些符合政府目標的慈善項目提供資金，試圖與歐洲國家打好交道。

People familiar with the matter said that Google’s cultural institute in Paris is one example. In 2010, Eric Schmidt, executive chairman, announced that the company would create a venue in the French capital dedicated to “digital culture”, with an investment that would run into the “millions of dollars”, according to local media reports.

知情人士表示，谷歌在巴黎成立的文化學院就是一個例子。據當地媒體報道，2010年，谷歌執行董事長埃裏克•施密特(Eric Schmidt)宣佈，該公司將在法國首都巴黎創建一個致力於“數字文化”的中心，投資將高達“數百萬美元”。

Its creation was partly in response to a declaration by Nicolas Sarkozy, then France’s president, that the government was considering an internet levy – dubbed the “Google tax” – to charge sites that generate income from content created by domestic media outlets.

該文化中心的建立在一定程度上是爲了迴應時任法國總統尼古拉•薩科齊(Nicolas Sarkozy)的一項聲明，聲明稱，法國政府正考慮徵收一項互聯網稅（被稱爲“谷歌稅”(Google tax)），向那些從國內媒體創造的內容中獲得收入的網站徵稅。

Google executives believed the tax plan was unworkable, but they feared it was a dangerous escalation in rhetoric.

谷歌高管認爲，這一稅收計劃是不可行的，但他們擔心這是法國當局在言論上的危險升級。

One insider said that the institute was a “gesture to show Google cared about French cultural values. It was to counteract the view that this was US imperialists out to crush French media groups.”

一位內部人士表示，成立巴黎文化學院“意在表明谷歌重視法國文化價值觀。這將與下列觀點相悖：摧毀法國媒體集團的是美國帝國主義者。”

In December 2013, the centre was opened. But French politics had changed. The internet levy was never implemented but Mr Sarkozy had been replaced by the socialist François Hollande.

2013年12月，谷歌文化學院落成。但法國政局已變。互聯網稅從未實施，但薩科齊被社會黨的弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)取代。

His new culture minister, Aurélie Filippetti, who had promised to inaugurate the venue, cancelled at the last minute. “Despite the quality of the projects concerned, I don’t wish to appear as a guarantee for an operation that still raises a certain number of questions,” she said.

奧朗德政府新任的文化部長奧雷莉•菲莉佩蒂(Aurélie Filippetti)在最後一刻取消了參加該中心落成儀式的計劃。她表示：“儘管有關項目的質量還好，但我不希望成爲一項仍存在很多問題的行動的擔保者。”

In the UK, Google has built Campus London, a hub for budding tech entrepreneurs.

在英國，谷歌爲科技企業家新秀創建了一箇中心：Campus London。

The centre was opened in March 2012 by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who hailed it as a project that could fulfil the UK government’s vision to turn the area’s budding start-up scene into the “technology centre of Europe”, a key government objective.

該中心於2012年3月投入運營，英國財政大臣喬治•奧斯本(George Osborne)參加了落成儀式，他表示該項目有助於實現英國政府的一個重要目標：將本地區的初創企業聚集地發展成“歐洲的科技中心”。