Consumer Watchdog

Justin Kloczko writes about tech, energy and insurance for Consumer Watchdog. He’s covered privacy issues extensively, including data collection, privacy rights and legislation, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and surveillance pricing.
 
He’s a recovering daily newspaper reporter with experience covering local government, education, and the criminal justice system at the Hartford Advocate, Middletown Press, and  Manchester Journal Inquirer. His work has appeared in Vice, Daily Beast, The New Republic, KCRW and Los Angeles Magazine.
 
While covering civil litigation at the Los Angeles Daily Journal he won LA Press Club awards for his stories detailing corruption at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. The stories led to the criminal prosecutions of multiple city officials. Justin also authored The Debaser, an independent newsletter about LA culture and politics that garnered him an appearance on the ABC/Hulu documentary about disgraced plaintiff’s attorney Tom Girardi called “The Housewife and the Hustler.”

Davis Enterprise: Lara here to make insurers’ wishes come true

By Tom Elias, DAVIS ENTERPRISE https://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/tom-elias-lara-here-to-make-insurers-wishes-come-true/article_ace33bc7-f7c2-4b7a-a6fa-e3805c5f3df9.html As he prepares for his last year in office, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going all out to make...

Santa Ynez Valley News – Lara seeks to fulfill insurance company wishes

By Thomas Elias, SANTA YNEZ VAKKEY NEWS https://syvnews.com/opinion/columnists/lara-seeks-to-fulfill-insurance-company-wishes-thomas-elias/article_457c9351-dd88-5de5-a26f-c74b5de45b46.html As he prepares for his last year in office, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going all out...

The Coast News Group – Elias: Lara does insurance companies’ bidding

By Tom Elias, THE COAST NEWS GROUP https://thecoastnews.com/elias-lara-does-insurance-companies-bidding As he prepares for his last year in office, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going all...

Los Angeles Times – The L.A. wildfires exposed a broken insurance market. Why wasn’t it fixed?

By Paige St. John, LOS ANGELES TIMES https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-12-04/californias-insurance-crisis-ricardo-lara-la-wildfires-why-wasnt-it-fixed California’s property insurance market was unraveling fast in mid-2023 when the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, landed in...

San Francisco Chronicle – State Farm faces second government investigation into Los Angeles wildfire response

By Megan Fan Munce and Susie Neilson, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/state-farm-investigation-los-angeles-21171274.php After months of consumer complaints and lawsuits over its response to the Los Angeles-area wildfires,...

Los Angeles Times – Foul-mouthed, brash and savvy: What to know about ex-Newsom aide tangled in a corruption probe

By Dakota Smith and Katie King, LOS ANGELES TIMES https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-14/dana-williamson-newsom-aide-profile-federal-indictment The FBI was secretly listening last year when a high-ranking advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom unleashed a stream of...

Pasadena Now – LA County Opens Investigation into State Farm’s Handling of Wildfire Claims

By City News Service https://pasadenanow.com/main/la-county-opens-investigation-into-state-farms-handling-of-wildfire-claims Los Angeles County attorneys Thursday launched an investigation into State Farm over their handling of insurance claims filed by policyholders affected...

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