County of Santa Clara, like every other county in the United States, collects sensitive and personal information about its constituents. This information includes health, financial, voting and criminal records, most of it now in electronic format and online. In 2017, at Supervisor Simitian’s urging, the County committed itself to becoming a Privacy Center of Excellence to ensure private and secure data for County residents in its own operations and from outside breaching attempts. As part of this program, the County hired its first Chief Privacy Officer.
During his time on the Board, Simitian has remained a staunch advocate for improving privacy and data security within the County. In collaboration with the Privacy Office and other County departments, he has consistently worked to improve the County's policies and procedures regarding privacy and data security, some of which are decades old. He's also championed the importance of privacy issues through events such as the County's annual Data Privacy Day conferences, which have addressed topics such as artificial intelligence, the vehicle privacy, and pandemic contact tracing.
