Waymo employees watching cabin camera feeds alerted police in San Mateo County, California, this past summer after the footage appeared to show two teenage passengers handling a black handgun inside a self-driving vehicle. According to a police report, the teens seemed to be firing the weapon out the window, playing with it and drinking between shots. The weapon turned out to be a water gun loaded with Orbeez rather than a real firearm. The episode nonetheless focused attention on the camera systems that robotaxi companies have built into their vehicles.
Waymo said its cars carry automated technology capable of flagging a firearm inside the cabin. The exteriors of autonomous vehicles are covered in cameras that help them perceive their surroundings, alongside sensors such as radar and lidar. The interior cameras receive less attention, though companies describe them as necessary for rider safety and rule enforcement. Waymo has said it used cabin cameras earlier this year after passengers in California, many in their twenties or older, reported that employees abruptly came over the vehicle intercom to verify they were old enough to ride alone.
Robotaxi operators including Waymo, Zoox and Tesla say human staff review interior camera footage only when necessary. All three say personal data, including recordings, may be turned over to law enforcement or regulators. A Waymo support page states that government agencies requesting data are directed to follow valid legal processes. Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina said the company uses automated technology to help its teams identify potential violations, and a 2025 Waymo patent describes interior camera systems running automated ride checklists before, during and after trips. Ilina did not say whether that system is deployed.
Zoox, which is owned by Amazon, tells riders on its website that interior cameras record the entirety of a trip. The company says such data can support ride operations and product development, and that it may record conversations between riders and support employees without saving the recordings. Zoox spokesperson Whitney Jencks said the company had nothing more specific to share about its privacy policies. Tesla's Robotaxi documents say a green indicator appears on the central touchscreen when the camera is active, and riders can opt in through the app to share in-cabin video and audio. Those in Tesla's early access program are automatically opted in, according to the documents. Tesla did not respond to questions, including whether that program has concluded. Tesla opened its Robotaxi app to the public in a handful of Texas and Florida cities in early September.
Justin Brookman, who directs technology policy at Consumer Reports, said some check on passenger behavior is needed in a car with no driver. Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who works on surveillance and policing issues, said lawmakers have left consumers behind on privacy and on what companies may do with collected information, and he warned that automakers collect data eagerly and will find more reasons to sell it as autonomous vehicles generate more. Earlier this year, General Motors paid California motorists nearly $13 million in penalties after being found to have sold driving data to brokers and eventually insurers without consent.
More hardware news from TechManNews.
