Washington’s Unfinished Privacy Agenda: Policy Reflections and Predictions

The “Washington model” for comprehensive consumer privacy legislation has influenced laws in more than 20 states, yet Olympia has not yet enacted its own comprehensive privacy law. This panel will examine what privacy professionals can learn from the state’s journey, from the early Washington Privacy Act negotiations to passage of the landmark My Health My Data Act to emerging debates over artificial intelligence, automated decision-making and youth safety. Drawing on perspectives from across Washington state’s technology policy community, panelists will explore the stakeholder dynamics, enforcement questions and competing policy priorities that have produced both breakthroughs and stalemates. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of Washington’s influence on national privacy policy and how its experience may shape the next generation of technology regulation.

What you will learn:

• Examine lessons from the passage and implementation of the My Health My Data Act, including the role of heightened protections for sensitive information and private enforcement.
• Explore how foundational privacy questions are resurfacing in emerging digital responsibility debates.
• Gain practical insight into where policymakers, industry and civil society may find common ground, as well as the issues likely to remain contested.