Susan McDonald Cooper

Susan McDonald Cooper is Counsel for International Consumer Protection in the US Federal Trade Commission’s Office of International Affairs. The FTC pursues the development of an international market-based consumer protection model, which focuses on protecting consumers from significant harm while maximizing economic benefit and consumer choice. The Office of International Affairs works toward these goals by participating in international fora promoting international cooperation to combat cross-border fraud and by promoting effective market-oriented consumer protection and privacy policies.

Ms. Cooper’s work at the FTC has focused mainly in the areas of data privacy and security, RFID, spam and other online threats. She joined the Federal Trade Commission in 2003, where she worked first in the Division of Privacy and Identity Management. There, she investigated and brought enforcement actions against companies for failure to maintain adequate and appropriate privacy and security measures for sensitive customer information. In 2005, Ms. Cooper joined the Office of International Affairs (formerly the International Division of Consumer Protection), where she participates in international fora, including the OECD and APEC, and has provided technical assistance to various international organizations developing consumer protection models. She has also conducted consumer and business outreach on various privacy and security topics. Before joining the FTC, Susan was an attorney at a Washington, DC law firm, where she worked on privacy matters as well as antitrust litigation and regulation.