June 2022 Privacy Points

Congratulations to Washington! The National Association of Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) just published a report on state privacy programs and found that Washington's privacy office is the only one in the country with a legislatively-funded budget, demonstrating the value that our state leadership has in respecting privacy and the importance of incorporating privacy principles into the state's data handling practices.

The report highlights several recommendations from surveying the states and Washington is well-positioned to continue to improve its privacy maturity across the enterprise based on the top-recommended priorities including dedicated funding, having a privacy governance structure, and developing agency relationships.

Federal Privacy Legislation

The prospect of federal privacy legislation is in the headlines again. A hearing on bipartisan legislation to strengthen data privacy and security for consumers was held last month by the Consumer Protection and Commerce subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce committee.

The bill is known as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act. The Senate is also considering privacy legislation known as the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, which includes creating a new Federal Trade Commission bureau to focus on privacy and data security. Issues that continue to be debated are federal preemption of existing state privacy laws and private rights of action where individuals have a right to sue to enforce their rights under the law. A new twist in the Senate bill is a delay of private rights of action for four-years after enacting the bill. Our office will continue to follow developments.

July Webinar - Privacy Metrics: Measuring Privacy Programs

Agency support for privacy programs is key and demonstrating privacy program value through metrics helps to build support. Metrics can also help gauge where you are and areas for improvement. Join us for a presentation on privacy program metrics to measure progress and deliverables for your agency's privacy program. We will talk about ideas for what to measure and ways to think about metrics for your organization. Anyone with a .gov or .edu email address who is interested in privacy metrics can attend.

In case you missed it - Privacy in Project Management webinar

The OPDP hosted a webinar last month on Incorporating Privacy into System Development and Project Management. Please visit our website for the June 15, 2022 presentation and slide deck.

See you next month with more updates from our office!

 

Katy Ruckle

State Chief Privacy Officer