A data shadow refers to the sum of all the small traces of information that an individual leaves behind through everyday activities. A data shadow is a minute pieces of data created when someone emails, updates social media profiles, swipes a credit card, uses an ATM, and so on. The concept of a data shadow has become a serious concern because it is difficult to control who is looking at a person’s data shadow, what conclusions they are drawing and what actions they are taking based on those conclusions.

 

Data shadow指一个人的日常活动留下的各种信息痕迹，即“数据影子”。发送电邮、更新社交网站状态、刷信用卡、使用自动取款机等等行为产生的点滴数据构成一个人的数据影子。这个概念开始引起关注是因为，谁在查看个人的数据影子、他们会从中得出什么结论、以及他们会在此结论的基础上采取何种行动，这些都是无法控制的。

 

This can happen when an employer, for example, fires an employee based on his or her Facebook friends or photos. Data privacy laws exist and more are being created to prevent abuse of a person’s data shadow. Unfortunately, privacy legislation generally lags behind companies' ability to collect, compile and analyze¹ data.

 

比如：某个老板可能以某个员工在Facebook上的朋友或照片为由将其开除。我们已有一些数据隐私法律，并且为了防止个人数据影子被滥用，还有更多法律正在制定当中。不幸的是，有关隐私保护的立法总是赶不上某些公司收集、整编和分析数据的步伐。

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