Ryan Mellino

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.”

Consumer Watchdog Sues to Stop Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Unjustified Surcharges from Being Imposed on California Homeowners

Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog sued the California Department of Insurance and Commissioner Ricardo Lara to protect California homeowners from hundreds of millions in...

Insurance Commissioner Seeks to Avoid State Review of Regulation Permitting Insurers to Use Secret Black-Box Models to Set Rates

On December 5, 2024, Consumer Watchdog sent a letter to California’s Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) objecting to the Department of Insurance’s (“the Department”)...

Consumer Watchdog Saves Policyholders Over $325 Million from State Farm Auto Rate Hike; Dispute Erupts Between Commissioner Lara and Chief Administrative Law Judge Who...

As a result of Consumer Watchdog’s intervention, State Farm agreed to a lower rate increase of 17.7% compared to its initial 23.4% request

Responding to Clearview AI’s Comments Concerning Consumer Watchdog’s Report on Clearview AI’s Abuses of Our Privacy Rights

In the wake of the publishing of Consumer Watchdog’s report on Clearview AI, both the company’s CEO, Hoan Ton-That, and General Counsel, Jack Mulcaire, objected to...

California Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds “Organizational Standing” in Unfair Competition Law Cases

Do you believe that an organization should be able to sue to stop actions that cost the organization money and directly harm its mission...

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Consumer Watchdog Files Coast-to-Coast Briefing Challenging Presidential Tariffs in California and Washington 

San Francisco, CA and Washington, D.C. — Consumer Watchdog yesterday...

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State Farm Investigation Must Conclude Before Rate Hike Approved Says Consumer Watchdog 

Los Angeles, CA --  Consumer Watchdog issued the following statement on...

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Second Federal Court Ruling Yesterday Echoes Concerns Raised in...
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