Privacy & AI Governance Advisory

Compliance isn't a knowledge problem. It's an execution problem.

That's the gap we close. Virtual Privacy is a boutique privacy and AI governance advisory firm headquartered in San Francisco, with in-market operations across the US–Vietnam–EU corridor — operationalizing compliance across borders, across teams, in practice.

What we do

Advisory built for implementation

Knowing what the law requires and building programs that actually deliver it are two distinct challenges. We work on the second.

Compliance programs built to run

Not documentation that sits in a folder. Frameworks your team owns and can operate without outside help after we leave.

Privacy and AI by design

Governance embedded in products before launch — not remediated after a regulator inquiry or enterprise security review.

International market readiness

Cross-border entries with regulatory credibility and pre-launch regulator relationships, not just a legal sign-off.

Teams that can implement

Training built for engineers, marketers, and HR — not written for compliance officers alone.

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Why Virtual Privacy

Built from inside the machine

Most advisors can read the regulation. Fewer have built programs at the companies that wrote the playbook.

  • Operator experience — not advisory Virtual Privacy consultants have built and led privacy programs inside organizations like Google, Netflix, Twitch, Walmart, Yahoo, and Axon. That's not advisory experience — it's operator experience, and it's our hiring standard.
  • Fluent in three regulatory environments Active practice across the US, Vietnam, and EU — not as three separate engagements, but as a single integrated capability, with in-market presence in San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City. Clients with multi-jurisdiction exposure work with one firm, not three.
  • Implementation, not recommendation We don't stop at the gap assessment or the policy draft. We stay through the build, the training, and the first audit cycle — until the program works in practice.
  • Right scale for the work Principal-grade depth on every engagement. No associates working off a checklist. Models range from focused assessments to multi-year strategic retainers.
Market insight

The regulatory floor keeps rising

Most programs were built for a lower threshold. GDPR fines exceeded €1.145 billion in 2025 — TikTok's €530.7 million cross-border transfer penalty was the year's largest — and the EU Digital Omnibus, now in trilogue, would amend GDPR, the AI Act, and NIS2 simultaneously. More than 20 US states now have comprehensive privacy laws. The compliance surface grows every quarter.

Effective Jan 2026

Vietnam's PDPL now in force

Law No. 91/2025/QH15 took effect January 1, 2026, replacing Decree 13 as Vietnam's primary data protection framework. Cross-border violations now carry fines up to 5% of annual revenue.

Effective Mar 2026

Vietnam's AI Law

One of Southeast Asia's first comprehensive AI laws is in force, with compliance grace periods of 12 months generally and 18 months for regulated sectors.

Aug 2026

EU AI Act enforcement

The EU AI Act reaches full enforcement for high-risk systems in August 2026, alongside Article 50 transparency obligations for AI systems that interact with people or generate content.

Our clients

Where governance is a strategic priority, not a checkbox

Growth-stage technology companies

Series A and beyond — hitting enterprise sales cycles, fundraising, or international expansion where privacy compliance is a condition, not a footnote. Often the firm's first serious governance engagement.

Vietnamese companies entering US and EU markets

Organizations navigating PDPL obligations at home while building the governance posture that US and EU enterprise buyers require. Privacy compliance as a market-access condition.

Multinationals with US–Vietnam–EU exposure

Managing GDPR, Vietnam PDPL, US state laws, and AI Act obligations simultaneously — without separate advisory relationships for each jurisdiction.

Organizations launching AI-enabled products

Where governance is a market-entry condition and a reputational signal — AI startups and established companies adding AI-driven features into regulated or enterprise markets.

Our work

Selected engagements

Drawn from our practice. Identifying details withheld to protect client confidentiality.

Data governance for a sensitive-population nonprofit

Lifecycle-based governance framework for a survivor-services organization — from intake through deletion — with clear internal ownership at every stage and a program the team could run independently.

International market entry for a biometric-enabled product

Go-to-market plan spanning legal, cultural, and regulatory considerations, including regional product controls aligned to local expectations and pre-launch regulator engagement.

Privacy & AI governance training for a 10,000+ employee multinational

Department-level training tailored to engineering, HR, and marketing. Strong engagement, high retention, and refined over several years based on real feedback — including an AI governance module added in a subsequent iteration.

Privacy and AI governance that works in practice — not just on paper

Ready to talk? We work across time zones.

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