09/10/2026
“Parents, do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!”
That's a real post. From a real police department. Bragging that a robot ratted out two kids.
The facts: two 15-year-olds in a driverless Waymo, drinking and shooting an Orbeez blaster — a toy. A Waymo rep watched them on the cabin camera, called 911, remotely stopped the car, and told the kids it was breaking down so they couldn't get out.
Five officers showed up. Weapons drawn. Police dog. For children.
Nobody in the media is asking the obvious:
🚩 A private company detained minors — no warrant, no parental consent, no judge. A citizen's arrest by RoboTaxi.
🚩 The remote monitor watching your kid may be sitting in the Philippines — Waymo runs two of its four support centers there. Zero training on how police encounters end for Black and Brown kids with toy guns. Ask Tamir Rice's family. He was twelve.
🚩 California protects minors from police — kids 17 and under must talk to a lawyer before questioning. ZERO law protects kids from a corporation surveilling, lying to, trapping, and dialing 911 on them.
🚩 Every ride, you're on camera AND microphone. That's not a feature. That's a rolling surveillance device with your kid inside it.
The LA Times covered this like a gadget review — written by the EV beat reporter who, per her own bio, spends her free time playing with her fur baby. Not everybody gets to not worry about their kid facing five officers over a toy gun.
Teenagers misbehave. The answer is their PARENTS — not a private company playing judge, jury, and canine dispatcher.
A robot decided your child looked like a threat. The media gave you the punchline.
💡 ICYMI: the way this story got covered — and everything the coverage left OUT — isn't an accident. Media manipulation is destroying our democracy, and I'm launching a FREE workshop on exactly how it works and what we can do about it. Spots are open now — sign up with the 🔗 in the comments. Can't wait to see you there 💜
