Surivalofthebiggest互联网巨头间战斗最大者生存.docVIP

Battle of the internet giants互联网巨头间的战斗Survival of the biggest最大者则生存Concern about the clout of the internet giants is growing. But antitrust watchdogs should tread carefully对互联网巨头势力的关注日益增加，但是反垄断机构应当慎重行事。Dec 1st 2012 | from the print editionTHE four giants of the internet age—Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon—are extraordinary creatures. Never before has the world seen firms grow so fast or spread their tentacles so widely. Apple has become a colossus of capitalism, accounting for 4.3% of the value of the SP 500 and 1.1% of the global equity market. Some 425m people now use its iTunes online store, whose virtual shelves are packed to the gills with music and other digital content. Google, meanwhile, is the undisputed global leader in search and online advertising. Its Android software powers three-quarters of the smartphones being shipped. Amazon dominates the online-retail and e-book markets in many countries; less well known is its behind-the-scenes power in cloud computing. As for Facebook, if the social networks one billion users were a country, it would be the worlds third largest.互联网时代的四巨头——谷歌，苹果，脸谱和亚马逊——都是庞然大物。有史以来还从未有公司以他们这样的速度成长，或是将触角延伸得如此宽广。苹果已经成为资本市场的巨无霸，其市值占标普500总市值的4.3%，占全球权益类市场总市值的1.1%。如今，大约4.25亿人使用它的iTunes在线商店，其虚拟货架上摆满了音乐和其他数字产品。同时，谷歌是无可争议的搜索和在线广告全球霸主，其Android软件装配了四分之三的已发货智能手机。亚马逊主导着多国的在线零售和电子书市场；较不为人所知的是，它是云计算的幕后大佬。至于脸谱，如果这个社交网络的10亿用户算作一个国家的话，那么它就是世界上第三大国家。The digital revolution these giants have helped foment has brought huge benefits to consumers and businesses, and promoted free speech and the spread of democracy along the way. Yet they provoke fear as well as wonder. Their size and speed can, if left unchecked, be used to choke off competition. That is why they are attracting close scrutiny from regulators.由四巨头助力而引发的数字革命给消费者和工商业带来了巨大的效益，并且促进了言论自由和民主的传播。但是，它们在带来惊喜的同时也引发了不安。如果任其不受约束，它们的规模和速度可被用来窒息竞争。这是它们正遭遇监管者详细审查的原因。Google is the one most under threat. Both the European Commission and Americas Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have