Ashkan Soltani Selected as California Privacy Protection Agency Executive Director

SACRAMENTO – The California Privacy Protection Agency has selected Ashkan Soltani as the Agency’s new Executive Director. He began his duties today.

As Executive Director, Soltani will carry out the day-to-day operations of the Agency, which is governed by a five-member board which will implement and enforce the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) including Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA), which created the Agency. He will also oversee enforcement activities, rulemaking, and public awareness, and will build and lead the Agency staff.

Among his other accomplishments, Soltani was an architect of both measures and is considered one of the country’s leading experts on privacy and security.

“We are thrilled to have Ashkan join the California Privacy Protection Agency,” said Agency Board Chair Jennifer Urban. “His background in technology and privacy, and his work on both the CCPA and the CPRA give him a thorough understanding of California privacy law and will stand him in good stead as he leads Agency staff and helps the Agency fulfill its privacy protection mandate.”

“California is leading the way when it comes to privacy rights and I’m honored to be able to serve its residents,” said Soltani. “I am eager to get to work to help build the Agency’s team and begin doing the work required by CCPA and the CPRA.”

Soltani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown University Law School at both the Institute for Technology Law and Policy and the Center on Privacy and Technology. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Obama Administration, and as the Chief Technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, where he helped create the Office of Technology Research and Investigation.

He was also recognized as part of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning team for his contribution to the Washington Post’s coverage of national security issues, and has served as the primary technical consultant on the Wall Street Journal’s investigative series “What They Know,” which was a finalist for a 2012 Pulitzer Prize.