As reported in Law360, Ashkan Soltani “[a] prominent security researcher and former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission has been selected to lead the day-to-day operations at California’s new privacy protection agency, which will be the first authority in the U.S. to focus solely on policing how companies handle consumers’ personal data.” CPW’s Alan Friel, deputy chair of the data privacy, cybersecurity and digital assets practice at Squire Patton Boggs, told Law360 Monday that Soltani’s selection demonstrated the state’s commitment “to developing a first class data protection authority.” “His credentials are simply beyond reproach, and having someone with Ashkan’s level of technical and regulatory agency experience will help the agency meet its goals and obligations,” said Friel, who’s based in California and specializes in counseling clients on compliance with the state’s privacy regimes.