Mark Beall, the former Pentagon official who oversaw AI policy, is sounding the alarm over the rapid spread of artificial intelligence surveillance systems, warning that tools such as Flock cameras could push U.S. neighborhoods toward what he described as a “China-like surveillance state” if strong safeguards are not put in place.
During an appearance on “Saturday in America,” Beall said AI-powered policing technology can play an important role in public safety, but he stressed that its use must be governed by clear limits, legal standards and meaningful judicial oversight to ensure Americans’ civil liberties are protected.
“We have to be careful that we don’t go too far to the other direction and create a China-like surveillance state, which is literally what AI capabilities will ultimately enable and are enabling right now,” Beall told Fox News.
The debate is already playing out in local communities, where resistance has ranged from damaged camera poles to widely shared signs designed to block surveillance lenses. Flock cameras, a type of automated license plate reader used by police, collect vehicle information that can help investigators track suspects and solve crimes. But residents in areas where the cameras have been installed have raised growing concerns about privacy, data collection and the possibility that law enforcement could misuse the technology.
Beall said those concerns should not be dismissed, even as police departments point to the investigative value of the systems. He called for a balanced approach that allows law enforcement to use AI surveillance tools when appropriate, while imposing strict guardrails, transparent rules and court supervision to prevent officers from exploiting the technology for personal or improper purposes.
“It’s tough to bring the message of compromise to the American people, especially when it comes to our constitutional protections,” Beall said.
“I think what we’re seeing across the board when it comes to artificial intelligence is that the innovation upside is so tremendous, but across all of these different use cases, including the Flock cameras, what we really need are strong guardrails, a strong policy that allows us to maintain those special values, the American founding principles that make this country so great,” he added.
Lawmakers from both parties have raised similar concerns and called for rules governing the surveillance technology. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has proposed banning the technology outright, and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has pushed to cut federal funding for local installations.
In Florida, transportation officials have ordered law enforcement agencies to take down the license plate readers from state highways. They cited privacy concerns and reports of misuse of the technology.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the cameras at a news conference Monday, saying, “If you want to get in your car, and you want to go down to Buc-ee’s in St. Augustine, it’s really none of the government’s damn business if you’re doing that, right? What we don’t want in the state of Florida is to have a digital AI surveillance state where everything we’re doing is being tracked at all times.”
He added that the technology has sometimes been useful but questioned where the data is going and how it is being stored.
“They claim that the companies aren’t going to misuse it, but no one’s watching that, and I know you can make some money selling cameras, but you really can make a lot of money if you can sell people’s data,” DeSantis said.
He said the company is focused on ensuring the technology is used for good, including by recommending seven-day data retention limits and holding those who misuse the system accountable.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flock Safety said they announced new safeguards, including cutting default data retention to seven days, making misuse detection mandatory for every customer and calling on the broader surveillance industry to meet those same standards.
In August, Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley addressed privacy and safety concerns in an interview with Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany.
“Today, it is too often that in Flock and in other technologies, there’s no regulation. There’s no accountability, and we think that’s wrong,” Langley said.
“We announced changes that required auditing, that required using our audit assistance tool, which detects abnormal behavior, and we’re calling on state regulators to focus less on banning this type of technology and more [on] holding our law enforcement community accountable,” he added.