Recent
Blog Post
8/21/2015
By John M. Simpson
Many of us worry that companies with an abundance of cash and a willingness to use it can unfairly influence elections and politicians. Google — or do we call it Alphabet these days — has demonstrated a willingness to throw around big bucks to achieve its goals, but two researchers have shown how the Internet giant poses an even greater threat through its search engine.
Writing...
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News Release
8/20/2015
John M. Simpson
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called on the California Department of Motor Vehicles to amend its Autonomous Vehicle Regulation to require that police investigate any crashes of robot cars being tested on public roads.
In addition the DMV should require that any data and video gathered by a robot car just before and during a crash should be provided to the department, the...
News Release
8/18/2015
Liza Tucker
Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog today asked NASA’s Inspector General to end a special NASA-Google deal to test unmanned drones over private land because it gives the Internet giant an unfair market advantage over competitors, and because the benefits to taxpayers are unclear.
“NASA should suspend this special arrangement with Google immediately—before new test runs start...
Blog Post
8/21/2015
By John M. Simpson
Many of us worry that companies with an abundance of cash and a willingness to use it can unfairly influence elections and politicians. Google — or do we call it Alphabet these days — has demonstrated a willingness to throw around big bucks to achieve its goals, but two researchers have shown how the Internet giant poses an even greater threat through its search engine.
Writing...
Blog Post
8/11/2015
By Carmen Balber
A Sonora family doctor arrested in July for overprescribing controlled substances is now accused of working “so high on narcotics” that she would nod off during appointments and pass out in the office, according to the Union Democrat.
A Newport Beach doctor had his license suspended in July after being caught stealing narcotics from patients. He tells the Daily Pilot, “Addiction...
Blog Post
8/5/2015
By Cody Rosenfield
NextGen Climate Founder and businessman Tom Steyer joined Consumer Watchdog today to release a new report on California oil refiner price gouging. The new report used corporate and state data to analyze refiner profits in the state, which have grown exponentially since California's price spike began in February.
If calls on elected officials do not spur an investigation or legislative...
News Release
8/20/2015
John M. Simpson
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called on the California Department of Motor Vehicles to amend its Autonomous Vehicle Regulation to require that police investigate any crashes of robot cars being tested on public roads.
In addition the DMV should require that any data and video gathered by a robot car just before and during a crash should be provided to the department, the...
News Release
8/18/2015
Liza Tucker
Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog today asked NASA’s Inspector General to end a special NASA-Google deal to test unmanned drones over private land because it gives the Internet giant an unfair market advantage over competitors, and because the benefits to taxpayers are unclear.
“NASA should suspend this special arrangement with Google immediately—before new test runs start...
News Release
8/17/2015
Eddie Barrera
Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog said today it was disappointed that the California Senate passed AB 1100, by Evan Low, D-Campbell, and Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, and decided that hiking the ballot initiative filing fee to $2,000 from $200 was more important than protecting the public’s right to direct democracy.
Prompted by an unconscionable initiative, which was later halted...
Legal Update
6/16/2014
By Jerry Flanagan
Over the weekend, one of our federal employee "John Doe" clients received a nice surprise from his health insurer: the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association ("BCBS") will no longer charge higher (discriminatory) co-pays for HIV drugs and has taken HIV drugs off its mandatory mail-order drug list, which threatened patient health, safety, and privacy.
Read the letter from BCBS here...
Legal Update
3/6/2014
By Laura Antonini
Attorneys at Consumer Watchdog and a group of law firms representing owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles whose fuel economy (miles per gallon) was misrepresented by Hyundai and Kia say the terms of a proposed settlement between the vehicle manufacturers and two other plaintiffs’ law firms should be improved, according to a lengthy analysis prepared by the Consumer Watchdog team.
The analysis...
Legal Update
3/6/2014
By Laura Antonini
On March 19, 2014, the California Court of Appeal will hold a hearing on DIRECTV’s attempt to force its customers who were wrongly charged early cancellation penalties to bring claims individually before private arbitrators rather than proceed in court as a class action. The class action lawsuit, brought by Consumer Watchdog’s attorneys on behalf of DIRECTV customers, claims that...
Video
8/10/2015
Nationwide, average gas prices are falling at the fastest rate since January due to cheaper crude oil costs and the resolution of some refinery issues but in California, the gap between local prices and the rest of the country is bigger than ever. Jamie Court explains that it is due to price gouging by oil companies who are scoring record high profits at the expense of Californians.
Video
8/6/2015
Consumer Watchdog and NextGen Climate are calling for a change in law to protect consumers from inflated prices at the pump. "This is a market that is not functioning for California consumers and it's functioning for the people who are running the market, and that has got to change," NextGen Climate president Tom Steyer said.Both Consumer Watchdog and NextGen Climate are hoping to...
Video
8/5/2015
NextGen Founder and businessman Tom Steyer joined Consumer Watchdog today to release a new report on California oil refiner price gouging. The new report used corporate and state data to analyze refiner profits in the state, which have grown exponentially since California's price spike began in February.
If calls on elected officials do not spur an investigation or legislative solutions, Tom...
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