重要非营利机构正在抗议他们所属的.org互联网域名注册系统的预定出售。
The groups say the sale of the system to a private investment company could lead to much higher costs to register and keep a domain name. A domain name identifies a website on the internet. The nonprofit groups also say the change could reduce freedoms of speech and expression.
这些机构表示，将该系统转让给私营投资公司可能会导致域名的注册和维护价格更高。域名标识了互联网上的网站。这些非营利机构表示，这种改变可能会导致言论自由度降低。
The registration process for millions of nonprofit groups using websites that end in dot-org is controlled by the U.S.-based Internet Society, or ISOC. But in November, the Internet Society announced it was selling control to Ethos Capital. It is a private investment company based on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
有数百万家非营利机构采用ORG域名建设网站，域名的注册过程由总部位于美国的国际互联网协会控制。但是该协会在11月宣布要将控制权出售给Ethos Capital。这是一家总部位于印度洋毛里求斯岛的私人投资公司。
Hundreds of organizations have objected to the plan. Top nonprofit groups like Greenpeace and Amnesty International have called for the $1.1 billion sale to be blocked.
数百家机构已经对该出售计划提出反对。绿色和平以及国际特色等顶级非营利机构呼吁阻止这笔价值11亿美元的交易。
Last week, the directors of 10 leading nonprofit groups published an open letter during the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The letter urged the Internet Society and ICANN, the internet's governing body, to intervene to stop the sale.
上个月，10家主要的非盈利机构的负责人在瑞士达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛会议期间发表了一封公开信。这封信督促互联网协会和以及互联网管理机构ICANN介入阻止这笔交易。
"Should the governance and stewardship of .ORG end up under the control of private or other actors that could lead to financial or other barriers, that would irreparably harm global civil society," the letter read.
这封公开信写道：“ORG域名的管理和组织工作最终落入私营或其它行为者的控制之下，这是否可能会造成财务或其他方面的障碍，从而对全球公民社会造成不可挽回的伤害。”
The Internet Society said in a joint statement with Ethos Capital that Ethos had promised to limit any cost increases to a yearly average of 10 percent. The statement added that existing agreements with ICANN contain limitations to prevent an internet registry from selling information about registered organizations.
国际互联网协会在与Ethos Capital的联合声明中表示，Ethos承诺将任何成本增长限制在年均10%的水平。声明还称，与ICANN的现有协议包含了防止互联网注册机构出售已注册机构相关信息的限制。
The statement rejected suggestions that the new system would lead to spying or censorship of online material. "Ethos and [the Internet Society] take freedom of expression very seriously, and the registry's commitment to free speech will continue unabated."
声明否认了新系统会导致间谍或在线材料审查的说法。“Ethos和国际互联网协会非常重视言论自由，注册管理机构将会继续承诺维护言论自由。”
Brett Solomon is the director of Access Now, a group that supports policies to keep the internet open and free. He told Reuters the sale could force smaller organizations with less money off the internet. In addition, he worries about the level of control handed over to the new owner of the registry system.
布雷特·所罗门是Access Now的负责人，这是一家支持保持互联网开放和免费政策的组织。他对路透社表示，这笔交易可能会导致没什么钱的小型机构离开互联网。此外，他对移交给注册系统新东家的控制程度表示担忧。
"They have a capacity to take somebody off the .org domain, which means they can censor, they can monitor, they can deny," Solomon said. "And all these issues are very, very important for organizations who are challenging governments and are challenging powerful interests," he added.
所罗门表示：“他们有能力让某人得不到org域名，这意味他们有能力审查、监控甚至是否决。所有这些问题对那些挑战政府、挑战强大利益的组织来说都非常重要。”
A small demonstration was recently held at the ICANN offices in Los Angeles to protest the planned sale. The demonstrators presented a letter signed by 35,000 supporters that urges ICANN to block the deal.
最近在ICANN洛杉矶办事处举行了一次抗议这次预定交易的小型示威活动。示威者展示了有3.5万名支持者的签名信，督促ICANN机构阻止这笔交易。
ICANN's chairman, Maarten Botterman, came outside with some other board members to meet with protesters. He told The Associated Press that ICANN is in the process of examining the effects of the sale. He said the organization was also looking to find guarantees to offer concerned dot-org registrants.
ICANN机构主席马腾·波特曼与一些董事会成员走出来会见了一些示威者。他对美联社表示，ICANN正在审查此次交易的影响。他说该组织也正在寻找途径为相关的ORG域名注册者提供保证。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·琳恩。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)