Waymo vehicle passenger privacy came into focus on Monday after a Waymo robotaxi reported two 15-year-olds to the San Mateo Police Department. Officers said the teens were drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns inside the vehicle.
San Mateo Police Department response
The Waymo then stopped in a parking lot until law enforcement arrived, and officers detained both 15-year-olds before removing them from the vehicle. A video posted on Facebook showed at least five officers and a police dog approaching the Waymo with their weapons raised.
Waymo cameras and microphones
Waymo says its vehicles have internal cameras and microphones that may be used in an emergency or to promote safety and security. The company also says the cameras are used to keep vehicles clean and help find lost items, and that it does not use facial recognition or other biometric identification technologies to identify individuals.
Waymo also says support may access live video during a trip in more urgent circumstances. That leaves riders with a practical privacy tradeoff: the systems built to document problems inside the car can also bring police into a trip before passengers ever step out.
Orbeez and toy guns
The teens were using toy guns to shoot Orbeez out the windows. The San Mateo Police Department said, “Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” and added, “The simple handling of them can cause fear in (passersby).”
The unanswered question is why the Waymo contacted police in this case, rather than handling the scene through its own controls alone.
