government watchdog
noun [ C ]
GOVERNMENT ukus UK
a government organization that makes certain that companies in a particular industry are obeying the law:
The energy company is likely to be prosecuted after an investigation being carried out by the government watchdog, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
( US also government watchdog group); (also government watchdog organization)
a group that watches the activities of a particular part of government in order to report illegal acts or problems:
The director of Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said the court's action "raises questions of favoritism."
The Civic Federation, a business-backed government watchdog, opposed the budget.