California Audits Fusion Centers for Privacy, Compliance

0:00California lawmakers have approved an audit of the state's five fusion centers where federal, state, and local agencies share intelligence. The vote came Tuesday from the Joint Committee on Legislative Audit, with nine in favor, one against and four abstaining, mostly along party lines. State Auditor Grand Parks will lead the review. Advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation push for this, pointing to abuses such as local police, helping immigration and customs enforcement run searches and sharing license plate data and violation of state law. California's Attorney General has warned over a dozen agencies and even sued one city for breaking the ban on immigration cooperation. Democrats, led by Senator Sabrina Cervantes from Riverside, worry these centers undermine privacy and state laws, especially amid federal shifts, toward more surveillance. Republicans called it a political witch hunt that ignores terrorism threats, but no fusion center reps oppose the audit.

1:00The review will check staffing from state and local agencies, private sector involvement, and oversight to ensure legal compliance. Fusion centers started after the September 11th attacks to fight terrorism, but studies from groups like the Brennan Center show little success. There, and big privacy risks. This move aims for more transparency on whether these centers protect Californians or enable unchecked spying, with results expected to shape future. Oversight, this has been Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey, with the story.