During a hearing on self-driving vehicles in Washington DC Wednesday, a Waymo executive said that remote workers as far away as the Philippines are operating the robotaxis when they encounter difficult situations, leading lawmakers to accuse the company of putting the American people at risk.

As CBS News reports, top executives from Waymo and Tesla were questioned on the safety of self-driving cars Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, as lawmakers determine how to regulate the industry amid recent high-profile incidents.

As the blog Futurism reports, a Waymo robotaxi struck an elementary-school child in Santa Monica last week, and more than 20 Waymos in Austin and 6 in Atlanta have reportedly been documented flying past stopped school buses that had their extended stop signs out and flashing lights on, which prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to open an investigation.

As the Chronicle reports, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña told the committee Wednesday (as seen in the below video clip), the company hires remote workers, including some who are located in the Philippines, to step in when the driverless cars need additional support in unpredictable situations — such as San Francisco's mass power outage back in December.

“They provide guidance, they do not remotely drive the vehicles,” Peña said, per the Chronicle. “Waymo asks for guidance in certain situations and gets input, but Waymo is always in charge of the dynamic driving task.”

“Having people overseas influencing American vehicles is a safety issue,” said Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, per the Chronicle. “The information the operators receive could be out of date. It could introduce tremendous cyber security vulnerabilities. … And let’s not forget Waymo is trying to replace the jobs of hardworking taxi and ride share drivers.”

In a statement to Futurism, a Waymo spokesperson said its fleet response teams are “required to have a passenger car or van license, and are reviewed for records of traffic violations, infractions, and driving-related convictions.”

“Additionally, they are routinely, randomly screened for drug use, and are put through thorough criminal background checks in addition to evaluations of their driving records,” the spokesperson added, per Futurism.

Additionally, as the Business Insider reports, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio addressed Waymo’s partnership with Chinese automaker Zeekr on the manufacture of the company’s new minivan-style vehicle, which has been in the testing phase for several years. The lawmaker accused Waymo of bypassing a new federal “connected vehicle” rule that imposes import restrictions on vehicles with certain autonomous or connected software that's tied to China.

Peña said Waymo's vehicles are shipped from China with no connectivity, and the driving systems are installed once they arrive in the US, arguing that its partnership with a Chinese company helps the company scale and meet rapidly growing demands as the US races to keep up with China, per the Business Insider.

"Giving a natural market to a Chinese company to ship us cars is making us better and creating more jobs for Americans? That's completely ridiculous," Moreno said. “You said in your testimony that we're locked in a race with China, but it seems like you're getting in bed with China.”

Per Futurism, Senator Markey released a statement calling for more transparency around how autonomous vehicle companies such as Waymo are utilizing overseas workers.

“Overseas remote assistance operations may be more susceptible to physical takeover by hostile actors, potentially granting them driver-like control of thousands of vehicles transporting passengers on American roads,” he said, per Futurism. “Heavy and fast-moving vehicles could quickly become the weapons of foreign actors seeking to harm innocent Americans.”

Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: A Waymo robotaxi drives along California Street on December 08, 2025 in San Francisco, California. Self-driving taxi company Waymo said it is voluntarily recalling software in its autonomous vehicles after Texas officials documented at least 19 incidents this school year in which the cars illegally passed stopped school buses, including while students were getting on or off. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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