Consumer Watchdog

Energy

Consumers To Benefit As Credit Card Law Debuts

NEW YORK, NY -- U.S. consumers will see on Thursday the first signs of the biggest overhaul of the credit card industry…

Aug 19, 2009

Insurance

Healthcare Reform Doesn’t Hinge On Public Insurance Plan

"The public plan was the last hope for keeping private insurers honest," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica.…

Aug 19, 2009

Insurance

Calif. Auto Initiative Funded by Insurer, Called ‘Class Warfare’ by Foe

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A California ballot measure underwritten by Mercury General Corp. would allow insurers to raise or lower automobile insurance…

Aug 18, 2009

Sen. Conrad’s Heath Insurance Co-Ops Won’t Provide Affordable Care And Could Be Used By The Insurance Industry Against Americans, Says Consumer Watchdog

Santa Monica, CA -- The health insurance purchasing co-ops proposed by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and a number of Senate conservatives have…

Aug 18, 2009

Insurance

Consumer Group Criticizes Co-Op Proposal

Consumer Watchdog today issued a press release criticising Senator Kent Conrad's (D-ND) health insurance cooperative proposal. The consumer group claims that the…

Aug 18, 2009

Privacy

Court Weighs Literary Flap Of The Century

The Author's Guild has urged members to go along with a lawsuit settlement that would allow Google to digitize millions of books…

Aug 17, 2009

Insurance

Amid Health Debate, Cash Flows To Lawmakers

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On a recent Wednesday morning, 1,000 insurance brokers spread out across Capitol Hill with a singular mission: kill a…

Aug 16, 2009

Healthcare

The Uninsured: Free Clinic

MIKE VON FREMD (ABC NEWS):  (Voiceover) This event was sponsored by Remote Access Medical, an organization started to serve third world countries.…

Aug 15, 2009

Public Warning: Mercury Insurance Initiative To Raise Rates On Drivers Not At-Fault In Accidents Cleared for Signature Gathering

Mercury Launches Attack on Middle Class During Tough Economic Times   Santa Monica, CA -- The California Attorney General has released the…

Aug 14, 2009

Privacy

Twitter Breach Revives Cloud Security Fears

Some interest groups are urging Los Angeles to rethink its plan to implement Google Apps. Last month's breach of a hosted Google…

Aug 10, 2009

Energy

Gas Climbs Past $3 Per Gallon

California's gasoline prices are climbing past $3 per gallon for the second time this summer. And the reason this time is the…

Aug 7, 2009

Health Insurance Whistleblower Urges Obama Health Chiefs To Join Him At Free Urban Health Care ‘Expedition’ In L.A. Stadium

Truth-teller Wendell Potter Asks White House Officials To See Insurance Crisis First-Hand Santa Monica, CA -- In private and public messages to…

Aug 6, 2009

Insurance

Co-op In Spotlight For Insurance Plan

United Agricultural Benefit Trust Spotlighted As Model For Healthcare Cooperatives Private insurers can screen out people more at risk for serious illness,…

Aug 6, 2009

Insurance

Our Opinion: Follow The Money Trail

If those congressmen who have received money from the health care industry recused themselves from the debate, you could almost hear a…

Aug 5, 2009

Privacy

FTC to Apple, Google Boards: We’re Watching

The Federal Trade Commission says it will keep investigating the board memberships of Apple and Google despite Google CEO Eric Schmidt's withdrawal…

Aug 5, 2009

Privacy

OK, You Get Custody Of Art And Al, But They Spend Alternate Weekends With Us

If Apple and Google were hoping that a Schmidt-ectomy would satisfy the FTC’s concerns over their board-level connections, they were wrong. While…

Aug 4, 2009

Privacy

Arthur Levinson To Follow Eric Schmidt’s Lead?

Calls for Genentech Inc.chairman Arthur Levinson to quit either the board of Apple Inc. or the board of Google Inc. are increasing,…

Aug 4, 2009

Privacy

Schmidt And Jobs Part Company

John Simpson at the Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit organisation, has applauded Mr. Schmidt's move but at the same time criticised the "clubby…

Aug 4, 2009