Shaundra Watson

Shaundra Watson has wide-ranging expertise on global regulatory compliance and policy strategy and advocacy, focusing on AI, privacy, data security, and consumer protection. Watson currently serves as Senior Director, Policy, in Washington, DC, and is responsible for providing counsel and developing global policy on key issues for the software industry, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI). In a previous BSA role, Watson also led BSA's engagement on global privacy issues.
Watson has spearheaded BSA’s contributions to key dialogues with US and global policymakers, including through written comments on AI and privacy regulatory proposals and draft legislation; development of best practices on AI governance; and as a speaker in key policy engagements, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearings examining privacy approaches, a forum in India with policymakers on development of India’s privacy law, and a briefing on AI for Members of Congress.
Watson rejoined BSA after serving as an in-house senior privacy and information security counsel for a Fortune 500 global entertainment company, where she advised business and technology units on CCPA and GDPR implementation and led development of global privacy compliance strategies.
Prior to joining BSA, Watson served as an Attorney-Advisor to two Commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, including the Chair, advising them on privacy, data security, advertising, and international issues and evaluating companies’ legal compliance in over 70 enforcement actions. During her FTC tenure, which spanned more than a decade, Watson also served as a Counsel for International Consumer Protection in the Office of International Affairs and an attorney in the Divisions of Privacy and Identity Protection and Marketing Practices.
In her various FTC positions, Watson played a key role on notable international privacy, security, and consumer protection initiatives, including negotiating and/or implementing flagship programs advancing global data transfers, such as the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules, serving on the global expert committee conducting a review of the OECD’s seminal privacy guidelines, and contributing to influential policy reports -- by both the FTC and multilateral fora -- shaping responsible data practices in the context of emerging technologies. In recognition of her leadership on Internet policy and global domain name issues, Watson received the FTC's prestigious Paul Rand Dixon award.
Prior to joining the FTC, Watson was an Associate at Hogan & Hartson, LLP (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, DC, where she handled intellectual property, international trade, and commercial litigation matters.
Watson has been active in advancing policy dialogues on privacy and AI, formerly serving on IAPP’s Education Advisory Board and the ABA’s big data task force, and as a current member of the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Task Force on AI and the National Bar Association’s Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Technology law section. Watson has also been a law school guest lecturer on international privacy and AI governance.
Watson clerked for Justice Peggy Quince at the Supreme Court of Florida and is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, VA.
Contributions by Shaundra Watson
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Passing the Test: Breaking Down the When, Where and How of Testing AI Systems
Moderator at IAPP AI Governance Global North America 2025