The incident led Waymo to suspend services in parts of LA and San Francisco
Amid ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, five Waymo robotaxis were set ablaze in Los Angeles, becoming iconic symbols of the demonstrations. The incident led Waymo to suspend services in parts of LA and San Francisco. The vandalism has sparked fresh concerns about surveillance, as Waymo vehicles are equipped with 29 external cameras and an unspecified number of internal ones.
Waymo has shared footage with police in the past under formal legal requests, but its disclosure practices remain opaque. “Our policy is to challenge overly broad or legally unsound requests,” said spokesperson Sandy Karp, who added that data may be shared “to comply with legal requirements.” It remains unclear how long Waymo retains video data or whether the destroyed vehicles’ footage still exists.
Waymo declined to answer questions about footage retention and cooperation with federal law enforcement, though Karp said access and retention are limited and footage may aid in engineering simulations.