What a year it’s been for privacy and the introduction of artificial intelligence into our work! As 2025 wraps up, it’s amazing to look back and see everything we’ve accomplished this year. From new policies, training and tools, we’ve taken big steps forward in integrating privacy with new technologies across the state.
One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is the adoption of the enterprise AI Policy — a major achievement that underscores how far we’ve come as a state. Many of our webinars this year focused on navigating AI risks and evaluating use cases for the best return on investment.
Interestingly our most watched video was from this year’s Privacy Day where we teamed up with City of Seattle. We love to highlight our work and collaboration with local government so I must give a shout out to Ginger Armbruster and her team! Thanks for all of the thought-provoking discussions and contributions from our partners to the north!
I also want to highlight our most recent webinar on the Keep Washington Working Act. This webinar posted just last month was in partnership with the Attorney Generals Office and focuses on key data protection measures for immigrant data in Washington.
As we wrap up another active year in privacy, I have included this year’s top, most-watched privacy webinars. Whether you’re catching up or revisiting a favorite, these sessions are packed with great insights and expertise. Check them out!
- Privacy Day Panel: State & Local Perspectives
- Introduction to Navigating AI Risks
- AI Laws & Governance Frameworks
- Navigating AI Risks Part 2
- Privacy and the Public Records Act
- Cybersecurity Awareness Month: AI Companion Chatbots Under Review
- Modern Privacy in AI Era
- Keep Washington Working Act Training
Privacy Week 2026
Get ready for privacy week coming the week of Jan. 26. Next year’s theme is health privacy, and we are lining up great presentations on HIPAA, substance use disorder privacy, consumer health privacy, and others. Watch for the launch of our Privacy Week website with another fun crossword and a kick-off Kahoot on Monday, Jan. 26!
State-wide AI Policy
We are very happy to announce that Washington adopted its first AI Policy in this month’s full board meeting of the Technology Services Board (TSB). The policy went through quite a journey this year after starting drafting last December, receiving feedback from agencies, voting in three governance bodies, and union bargaining. Thanks for the great questions and discussion as we moved forward with a unanimous vote at the Dec. 11 TSB. You can access the policy on our website and watch TSB on TVW. WaTech is working with the Department of Enterprise Services to get the AI training loaded into The Learning Center. We expect it to be available early next month.
JLARC Audit
OPDP is proud to share the results of our Performance Audit from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee. JLARC found that 82% of agencies agreed that OPDP was meeting all or most of their privacy needs. We were also proud of the finding that we are meeting all of our statutory requirements. But there is more work to be done! As we work on the recommendation to enhance our office’s performance metrics, we will be reaching out to many of you for more feedback. You can find the full report online for further information and you can watch the hearing with my formal response on TVW (1:22:14 mark).
Warmest wishes this holiday season!
Katy Ruckle
State Chief Privacy Officer