Privacy

Malpractice Cap, Medical Board Under Attack

May 8, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>An initiative is in the works for the November 2014 ballot that seeks to repeal the $250,000 cap on damages in medical malpractice cases and overhaul the Medical Board of California.<br /> <br /> The measure is being drafted by Consumer Watchdog and the Troy and Alana Pack Foundation, a Danville-based nonprofit started after the Pack family lost their young children in an accident that involved a drug abuser who obtained narcotics by physician prescription.<br /> <br />

Groups Push for Ballot Initiative to Lift Cap on Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Payouts

May 7, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>An effort to lift the state's 38-year cap on medical malpractice lawsuit payouts through a 2014 ballot initiative may be little more than an attempt to pressure the state Legislature to act on the matter, according to capitol sources and critics of the proposal. But the coalition behind an as-of-yet unwritten ballot initiative says it intends to follow through with the effort to redress the medical tort law through voter action.</p>

My Son’s Life Is Worth More

May 3, 2013  ·  ConsumerWatchdog

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2644" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images_micrapressconferencepic_2_2.jpg" style="width: 211px; height: 158px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: right;" width="600" height="450" />Since 1975 the value of everything has gone up, except the value of my son’s life under California law.<br /> <br />

Do-Not-Track Talks Could Be Running Off the Rails

May 3, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-10097" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images_03bits-dnt-tmagarticle.jpg" style="width: 450px; height: 238px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="592" height="322" /></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>After nearly two years of negotiating and little progress, the international group trying to agree on a Do Not Track standard is convening its final official face-to-face meeting next week in Sunnyvale, Calif.</p>

LA Battery Recycling Plant Faces Legal Headaches After State Agency Suspends Operations

May 3, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A lead acid battery recycling plant just south of downtown Los Angeles is under growing legal pressure after regulators reported that it has spewed dangerous levels of arsenic into the air and is possibly contaminating groundwater.<br /> <br />

Microsoft Should Act Now To Protect Online Privacy

May 1, 2013  ·  John M. Simpson

<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com"><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2642" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images_ie-logo-small.png" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; float: right;" width="300" height="300" />Microsoft,</a> which is trying to position itself in a major advertising campaign as a privacy friendly Internet company, should take a simple step that shows it means what it says.<br /> <br />

Regulatory Clouds Over Google Have Largely Cleared

April 30, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Google once appeared headed for major clashes with regulators — in the United States or Europe, or both — as government officials sought to curb alleged abuses by one of the world’s most powerful and profitable technology companies. But the clouds over Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters have largely cleared over the past several months.</p>

Your Privacy, Under Attack

April 29, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="bodytextragright"><span id="mn_Article">Your privacy is being debated by lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington D.C., and there's a good chance you're going to lose out. In Congress, a poorly written bill could erode your privacy, while in the California Legislature, a good bill that would protect your privacy is coming under fierce attack.</span></p>

Google Wallet Update Upsets Privacy Advocate

April 25, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>Interface changes to the Google Wallet Merchant Center stir privacy violation complaints, but Google insists it's done nothing wrong.</strong></p>

Will Harris Be a Watchdog of Internet Giants?

April 24, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Attorney General Kamala Harris has a Google issue.</p> <p>It's not that her reputation is being besmirched online. If anything, she is trending up. If you Google her, you'll see that Time magazine last week named her on its list of the world's most influential people, directly behind NRA chief Wayne LaPierre.</p>

Facebook Spending Millions to Make Friends in Washington

April 24, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>The social network increased its lobbying budget to $2.45 million in the first quarter.</strong></p> <p>Facebook is spending fast and furious to advance a social-network-friendly agenda with U.S. lawmakers.</p>

Regulators Close Exide Technologies Car Battery Recycler in Vernon; Cite Cancer Risk, Contaminated Soil

April 24, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The <a href="http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/">California Department of Toxic Substances Control</a> has shut down a battery recycling plant in Vernon whose own investigation revealed that it’s contaminating the soil around it. <a href="http://www.exide.com/">Exide Technologies</a> recycles 22 million car batteries a year at its Vernon plant. The DTSC said Wednesday that it has suspended Exide’s operating permit.</p>