Consumer Watchdog Posts

A case could be made for doctors to take the same mandatory drug tests that athletes and police do. Nearly two in 10 doctors have substance abuse issues, near twice as high as the population at large.

We just wanted to let you know that we have filed a ballot measure that has been 37 years in the making. If we collect about 750,000 valid signatures, voters will have a chance to adjust for inflation a three and a half decade-old cap on the value of a child's life if he or she

Something smells when an agency purposefully cripples its own enforcement abilities. One good example is the Department of Toxic Substances Control. The DTSC exists to protect communities like Richmond from toxic harm. And for years, it's done a very poor job of it.

Says State Attorneys General $7 Million Deal with Google Won't Stop Company's Serial Privacy Abuses
The $7 million deal announced today ending a multi-state investigation of the Google Wi-Spy scandal does virtually nothing to thwart the Internet giant's repeated privacy violations, Consu

Reports were circulating in the tech press Friday that serial privacy violator Google is about to cut a deal with state attorneys general to close their investigation of the Wi-Spy scandal.
Rem

Somebody's listening. We issued Golden Wasteland this morning, a harsh look at  the Department of Toxic Substances Control and how it's falling down on its job of protecting Californians and the environment from toxic harm.  NBC took a deep look at the Department last night as well -- and its director refused to answer direct question

In response to consumer complaints and a class action lawsuit on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients in California, Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to suspend a program that would have barred patients from purchasing certain specialty medications at local pharmacies.  Under the program, patients would have been required to obtain th

It was a relief to hear more than a passing reference to climate change in President Obama's State of the Union Speech, including promises of more support for wind and solar power. But the oil industry heard nothing to even cause even a smidgen of concern.
Asking Congress t...

Leading consumer advocates today called upon the legislature to hold hearings and investigate strong new laws in response to recent Los Angeles Times reports on widespread drug overdoses due to physician overprescribing and the recent case of a convicted methamphetamine-...

The news reports were on the gee-whiz side this week as state job safety regulators announced nearly $1 million in fines--the largest ever!-- against Chevron for its refi...

Consumer Watchdog Wednesday called on the Federal Trade Commission to ask Congress to pass Do Not Track legislation because "the self-regulatory effort to design Do Not Track is virtually dead in the water."
In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz John M. Simpson, the nonpartisan nonprofit public interest group's...

Comedy is funnier when it hits you in the gut. That's what made a famous skit by Lily Tomlin about the phone company's abuse of customers so memorable, one tag line being "We are omnipotent."
AT&T is still at it. As columnist Jam...

Google may have only received a tap on the wrist from the Federal Trade Commission when the agency closed the U.S. antitrust investigation without taking action against the Internet giant for skewing search results to favor its se...

Says Action Necessary To Restore Faith in Agency As Effective Antitrust Enforcer
Consumer Watchdog today called on the Federal Trade Commission to release the 100-page staff report on the 19-month Google investigation as the only way to "restore a modicum of public trus...

What an inspiring 2012! Together, we exposed and stopped false MPG claims by automakers, shamed health insurance companies into lowering outrageous rate hikes and moved closer to the day when technology compa...

The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) settlement with Google fails to end its most anti-competitive practice, Consumer Watchdog said Thursday. The public interest group called on the Department of Justice to press forward to end the Internet giant's monopolistic behavior in search results.

In its quest for more profits, Anthem Blue Cross has begun telling patients who have very serious diseases and need so-called "specialty drugs" that they cannot use their local pharmacy where many have long term relationships, but must ...

Reporters largely missed the point of a Commonwealth Fund study released this week, that looked at consumer savings under Obamacare's 80-20 rule, the rule making insurance c...

Consumer Watchdog Thursday welcomed a report from the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) calling for sweeping reforms in governance at California's stem cell agency and an end to the board's built-in conflicts of interest.
The report said that "far too many board members represent organizations" that receive funding or benefit from the stem c...

When you stare down a $220 billion corporation, it's hard not to blink. But if the Federal Trade Commission doesn't deliver on its ultimatum to Google that it settle its antitrust problems soon for real relief or face prosecution, then consume...