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Gov. Spencer Cox speaks before a crowd during the Utah Data Governance Summit at Utah Valley University on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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A crowd of attendees is shown during the Utah Data Governance Summit at Utah Valley University on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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On Thursday, state and local officials came together to explore the complex details of the recently passed data governance laws in Utah.

Presented and hosted in partnership between the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy and the Utah Office of Data Privacy at Utah Valley University, the summit unpacked several pertinent goals:

• Establishing scalable privacy and data governance practices that can be implemented consistently across state and local programs.
• Breaking down data silos to foster collaboration and align information systems around the needs of Utah residents
• Designing public services that are grounded in transparency, accountability and public trust.

Gov. Spencer Cox led off the daylong event with a keynote address. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the trust of local citizens and the need for public entities to manage data responsibly while helping Utahns understand how their personal information is being governed.

“I truly believe that this is a year of action for all of us, for every Utah governmental entity to initiate its privacy program and build the foundation for long-term success,” Cox said.

Thursday’s summit aligns with the Government Data Privacy Act that was passed during the 2024 legislative session.

The law establishes standards for regulated governmental entities to adhere to. The act also creates or updates various state entities with the authority to determine state data privacy policy and coordinate the implementation of privacy protections, according to University of Utah Health compliance services.

Cox says there needs to be a paradigm shift in understanding that individuals own their data and should have the right to decide who uses it and how it is shared.

“We own that (data). Google does not own that. Facebook does not own that. We own that, and we’re the first state, first place in the world, to pass a law that sets that out clearly, and we will be fighting for it,” Cox proclaimed.

The summit also included multiple panel discussions featuring policymakers, members of the Utah State Legislature and various education leaders and elected officials.

A series of breakout sessions explored ways of balancing government transparency with the protection of personal information.

“We’re having the hard policy discussions, bringing all stakeholders to the table and confronting the challenges that come with modernizing government in a digital age,” said Chris Bramwell, Utah’s chief privacy officer, in a statement.

A video stream of the summit can be found at www.uvu.edu/herbertinstitute.