蘋果新專利惹質疑:政府控制信息"開關"

Well, this is interesting. Apple has patented technology that could allow the police to block transmission of videos, photographs and other information from leaving fenced locations.

蘋果手機的一項專利很有意思，通過它警察能對特定地區傳播的數據信息進行阻斷。

Apple intends for its use to be mostly limited to cinemas, theaters, concert venues and other such locations, but also adds that police and authorities could utilize this on/off switch.

蘋果公司計劃將這一應用投入到電影院、劇院音樂會和其他類似的地點，但也表示說警察和政府可以決定是否限於該類地區進行數據隔斷。

Here’s what Apple had to say about the technology:

以下內容是蘋果公司公佈的內容：

As wireless devices such as cellular telephones, pagers, personal media devices and smartphones become ubiquitous, more and more people are carrying these devices in various social and professional settings. The result is that these wireless devices can often annoy, frustrate, and even threaten people in sensitive venues. For example, cell phones with loud ringers frequently disrupt meetings, the presentation of movies, religious ceremonies, weddings, funerals, academic lectures, and test-taking environments.

隨着無線設備,如移動電話、尋呼機、個人媒體設備和智能手機變得無處不在，越來越多的人攜帶着這些裝置出現在一些社交性的和特殊的地點。結果是在敏感的場所中,這些無線裝置經常騷擾,挫折,甚至威脅到人們。例如,特別響的手機鈴聲經常破壞會議、播放中的電影、宗教儀式、婚禮、葬禮、學術講座和考試。

That sounds innocuous, but here’s the alarming part:

這聽起來是好像是無害的,但是以下是令人擔憂的部分：

Covert police or government operations may require complete “blackout” conditions.

祕密警察和政府可以操控人們的手機，形成暫時性“無信號”的情況。

That second quote has some believing that authorities could use this technology to block information leaving the scene of geofenced protests and rallies.

更深一層的憂慮來自於這樣一種說法：當局可以使用這個技術來控制特定區域——如抗議示威和集會現場——的信息，使其無法傳播。

Though Apple has been granted this patent, it doesn’t necessarily mean the company will utilize it in its mobile devices soon. It’s worth noting that patented technologies don’t always end up in on-shelf products.

而且雖然蘋果公司已經被授予此項專利，但這並不意味着它將很快應用到移動設備上。值得一提的是，專利技術也並不一定會應用到上架產品中。