Our watchdog team stands up for the interests of consumers

PIRG Consumer Watchdog
Product Safety
Defend Net Neutrality
Food Safety

For more than 40 years, we’ve been educating consumers about how to protect themselves and their rights. We work to get dangerous products off store shelves, to end exploitative practices, and ensure a level playing field in the marketplace. And we advocate for new rules, institutions and policies to defend consumers from the economic and political power of special interests. Right now, our Watchdog team is focused on consumer threats from data breaches to dangerous toys.

 

New Consumer Challenges

Lately, the Trump administration has been cutting back on vital programs that act as a safety net for consumers. Meanwhile, new products, services and technologies are being introduced into the marketplace every day. Our watchdog work has never been more important.

With the support of our members we are able to:

• Identify emerging threats to consumers, and thoroughly research impacts, solutions and alternatives.

• Get critical information out through our consumer alerts, so consumers can protect themselves and their families.

• Our lawyers, researchers and experts often can work directly with a company, agency or service provider and get them to act in their customers' best interest. When that’s not possible, our team uses the power of the media and consumer pressure to bring about change.

• Our advocates operate in the Statehouse, City Halls, boardrooms and in Congress, pushing for stronger consumer protections, and, more recently, vigorously defending the vital protections we already have.

More Than 40 Years Of Protection

Our national network has been working to protect consumers for more than four decades. Protections many of us take for granted, including:

  • more than 150 unsafe toys recalled;
  • identity theft protections in 49 states;
  • more effective and affordable prescription drugs;
  • the nation's first Lemon Laws; and
  • an airline passengers Bill of Rights.

Our consumer protection work is only made possible by supporters like you. Sign up for our consumer updates and alerts so you can stay informed on the latest product safety recalls, marketplace threats and other consumer safety issues. And you can support more independent research and testing by making a donation today.

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Sign up for our consumer alerts, and spread the word about unsafe products and other consumer risks to your friends, family and others.

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Top photo: row 1, C-SPAN, FOX29, C-SPAN; row 2, Supreet Muppa, NBC10; row 3, Kristopher Connor, T.J. O'Neil, Caley McGuane.