Governor, Attorney General and State Auditor Announce Appointments to the Newly Created Personal Privacy Oversight Commission
Salt Lake City, UTAH – Gov. Spencer J. Cox, State Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, and State Auditor John Dougall today announce their respective appointments to the newly created Personal Privacy Oversight Commission (Commission). The Commission was created by the Legislature during the most recent legislative session (see HB 243).
The purpose of the 12-member Commission is to develop guiding standards and best practices with respect to government privacy. The Commission will also recommend minimum privacy standards for governmental entities for the Legislature to consider codifying into statute. Commission members will work with the new Government Operations Privacy Officer and the new State Privacy Officer, reviewing specific government privacy practices recommended by these privacy officers.
Governor’s Appointments (63C-24-2-1(2)(b))
● Quinn Fowers: Director of information technologies & digital services, Weber County -- member who, at the time of appointment provides internet technology services for a county or a municipality;
● Aliahu "Alli" Bey: President, Haight Bey & Associates, CEO, Totem Tech --member with experience in cybersecurity;
● Nayana Penmetsa: Engineering manager, Plaid -- member representing private industry in technology;
● Keith Squires: Interim chief safety officer, University of Utah -- member representing law enforcement; and
● Chris Koopman: Executive director, The Center for Growth and Opportunity, Utah State University -- member with experience in data privacy law.
State Auditor’s Appointments (63C-24-2-1(2)(c))
● Matthew Weller: President, All West Communications; Board Member, Executive Education Advisory Board, University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business; Board Member, National Cable Television Cooperative -- member with experience in internet technology services;
● Amy Knapp: Former VP-Information Security and Compliance, O.C. Tanner --member with experience in cybersecurity;
● Brandon Greenwood: CISO, VP Security & IT, Overstock; Board Member,
SL|CISO -- member representing private industry in technology;
● Phillip J. Windley, Ph.D.: Principal Engineer, Office of IT, Brigham Young University; Founder and Organizer of Internet Identity Workshop and author of Digital Identity -- member with experience in data privacy law
● Marina Lowe: Legislative Counsel, ACLU of Utah -- member with experience in civil liberties law or policy and with specific experience in identifying the disparate impacts of the use of a technology or a policy on different populations.
Attorney General’s Appointments (63C-24-2-1(2)(d))
● Jeff Gray, Utah Office of the Attorney General -- member with experience as a prosecutor or appellate attorney and with experience in civil liberties law; and
● Mike Smith, Utah County Sheriff -- member representing law enforcement
Comments
Gov. Spencer Cox commented, “Protecting the personal privacy of all Utahns has become even more important as technology has advanced. I’m pleased to see this new privacy commission come together and look forward to developing policies that will hold the state accountable for the use of Utahns’ personal data and information.”
“Privacy is a concern for Utahns now more than ever, and threats are everywhere,” said Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. “For those reasons, I am excited to help create, and work with the new Privacy Commission, which will focus on how the government handles personal information and the best ways to maintain our citizens’ privacy.”
State Auditor John Dougall commented, “This commission is positioned on the cutting edge of government privacy within state government. It brings together some of the best minds to help Utah lead out on protecting the privacy of its citizens.”