Waymo Faces Scrutiny Over Overseas Remote Operators

Congressional hearing reveals Waymo's reliance on workers in the Philippines to guide self-driving vehicles

Published on Feb. 6, 2026

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During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, admitted that the company's self-driving vehicles rely on remote operators in the Philippines to provide guidance in certain situations. This revelation raised concerns from lawmakers about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and public safety risks, as the overseas operators may have outdated information or lack proper licensing.

Why it matters

Waymo has positioned itself as a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, but the disclosure that its vehicles are not fully self-driving and rely on remote human input challenges the company's claims. This raises questions about the safety and security of Waymo's operations, especially as the vehicles navigate public roads transporting passengers.

The details

Peña explained that the remote operators in the Philippines provide 'guidance' to the Waymo vehicles, but do not directly control the driving tasks. However, senators argued that this setup could introduce 'tremendous cybersecurity vulnerabilities' and that having overseas workers influence American vehicles is a 'safety issue'. Tesla's VP of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, also revealed that Tesla's vehicles rely on similar remote assistance.

  • During a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, February 5, 2026

The players

Mauricio Peña

Waymo's chief safety officer who testified about the company's use of remote operators in the Philippines.

Ed Markey

A U.S. Senator who argued that having overseas workers influence American vehicles is a safety issue.

Lars Moravy

Tesla's VP of vehicle engineering who revealed that Tesla's vehicles also rely on remote assistance.

Waymo

An American autonomous driving company and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.

Tesla

An American electric vehicle and clean energy company.

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What they’re saying

“They provide guidance. They do not remotely drive the vehicles. Waymo asks for guidance in certain situations and gets an input, but the Waymo vehicle is always in charge of the dynamic driving tasks, so that is just one additional input.”

— Mauricio Peña, Waymo's chief safety officer

“Having people overseas influencing American vehicles is a safety issue. The information the operators receive could be out of date. It could introduce tremendous cybersecurity vulnerabilities. We don't know if these people have US driver's licenses.”

— Ed Markey, U.S. Senator

“We have many layers of security within our system and, similar to what Dr. Peña said, our driving controls, go, stop, steer, are in a core embedded central layer that cannot be accessed from outside the vehicle.”

— Lars Moravy, Tesla's VP of vehicle engineering

What’s next

Lawmakers are expected to continue investigating the safety and security implications of Waymo and Tesla's reliance on remote human operators, particularly those based overseas.

The takeaway

This revelation about Waymo's use of remote operators in the Philippines challenges the notion of fully autonomous vehicles and raises serious concerns about the cybersecurity vulnerabilities and public safety risks associated with this practice. It underscores the ongoing challenges facing the autonomous vehicle industry as it seeks to deploy self-driving cars on public roads.