Declare Data Privacy Week

Assembly Resolution No. 57 BY: M. of A. Rosenthal MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27-31, 2025, as Data Privacy Week in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27-31, 2025, as Data Privacy Week in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of National Data Privacy Week; and WHEREAS, The purpose of Data Privacy Week is to encourage individuals to make informed decisions about the information they choose to share and to be mindful of the applications they use and their privacy settings; and WHEREAS, It is also important for companies to respect privacy by fulfilling their obligation to their users of protecting their personal data, evaluating their data collection and storage practices and being transparent with users about how their data is collected, stored and used; and WHEREAS, Data Privacy Day began in the United States in January of

2008, and commemorates the January 28, 1981, signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection; and WHEREAS, Today, Data Privacy Day is observed for a week in the United States and at least 50 other countries; and WHEREAS, The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) officially leads the Data Privacy Week campaign and is advised by a distinguished advisory committee of privacy professionals to help the campaign align with the most current privacy issues in a thoughtful and meaningful way; and WHEREAS, Data Privacy Week's educational initiative originally focused on raising awareness among businesses as well as users about the importance of protecting the privacy of their personal information online, particularly in the context of social networking; and WHEREAS, The educational focus has expanded over the past six years to include families, consumers and businesses; and WHEREAS, In addition to its educational initiative, Data Privacy Week promotes events and activities that stimulate the development of technology tools that promote individual control over personally identifiable information; encourages compliance with privacy laws and regulations; and creates dialogue among stakeholders interested in advancing data protection and privacy; and WHEREAS, Many examples abound of the perils of poor data management; lives and livelihoods can be destroyed by theft of identity, credit information, and the like, including the denial of a loan or new credit card, removal from one's hard-earned state of financial stability, and the mental duress of loss of privacy and security of one's personal information and data; and WHEREAS, The threat of data breaches and data theft continues to loom large and continues to grow and plague more New Yorkers and Americans each day; and WHEREAS, As more commerce, communication, and other aspects of the daily lives of New Yorkers occur digitally, it is more important than ever to be educated on the safe practices of data privacy and safety, and to take steps whenever possible to increase data security; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater awareness of the importance of data privacy, and more must be done to increase activity at the local, State and National levels; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27-31, 2025, as Data Privacy Week in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York.