The rise of AI appears to be raising concerns within state governments about data privacy, but a report released Thursday by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers found that states with “well-established” privacy programs That's less than a quarter.
A new report titled “The Changing Privacy Paradigm: The Evolving Role and Enduring Reality of State Chief Privacy Officers” shows that the number of chief privacy officer roles is increasing. NASCIO counts her as having the chief privacy officer or equivalent position at 25 people, but that is not the case. Everything is fulfilled. However, of the 17 privacy officers who responded to this year's survey, only 24% reported that their states have “established” privacy practices in place, compared to NASIO's similar survey in 2022. This year, 41% said they were making progress on that initiative, down from 29%. About building a privacy program.
The group also pointed to other more encouraging findings, including that the role is increasingly being called “chief privacy officer” rather than another name. Fifteen of the 17 officials surveyed (88%) held the title, an increase from 2022, when only 65% held it.
“This increase reflects the importance of the role,” the report says. “We are also seeing some states hiring an official chief privacy officer after having someone else fill that role part-time. , but it does indicate that the role is more established.”
NASCIO found that privacy officers are most focused on national data privacy and internal government operations. He was the only one of her 17 officials surveyed to list consumer privacy as a top priority.
Separately, 77% of officials cite AI as an important policy area in their states, and governors have issued executive orders directing agencies to investigate the potential risks and benefits of generative AI. This is not surprising since there are. “Privacy experts are increasingly being asked for important input on AI governance and policy settings,” the report says.
Specifically when it comes to AI procurement, 69% of privacy officers say they are involved in approving technology contracts, up from 59% in 2022. 25% said they are involved in AI procurement “sometimes or in certain circumstances.”
The California Department of Government Operations on Thursday announced procurement guidelines for generative AI contracts, one of many requirements outlined in Governor Gavin Newsom's 2023 Executive Order.
States' mixed progress in advancing privacy practices was explained in part by NASCIO's survey of privacy officers' biggest challenges: lack of authority, funding, and staff. The group concludes the report with advice gleaned from survey respondents to address these challenges. These include placing the role of chief privacy officer under the governor, establishing a privacy budget by statute, and placing a privacy analyst in each department to ensure the state's privacy program is implemented. is included. It's running consistently.
One anonymous official quoted in the report suggested that patience may be the best path forward, saying “it takes time to establish programs, processes, policies, procedures and buy-in.”
