Trust Me, Bro
👁🗨 Waymo is watching Nashville · ICE call center slated for Nashville · TBI investigates catastrophic drug mix-up at Nashville Hospital · Much more!
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Surveillance technology is a hot topic in Nashville, and Waymo has entered the chat.
From Megan Podsiedlik
From license plate readers to drones to Elon Musk’s automated-vehicle superhighway, the Metro Council and local progressives have had plenty of beef with emerging technology. Now, Waymo may be next in the hot seat, and this time, the opposition could be more unifying than divisive.
Trust Me, Bro Waymo’s autonomous vehicles use audio receivers and 29 external cameras to continuously capture a 360-degree view of the surroundings, both while driving and while parked in Nashville. Those cameras can capture the faces of pedestrians and bystanders, as well as license plates, though the company says it does not use facial recognition or other biometric technology to identify people. Instead, Waymo says the data is collected primarily to operate its vehicles safely, map surroundings, and improve the system.
Waymo’s privacy policy gives the company broad latitude in how it collects and shares data, even as it assures the public that it uses that data responsibly. The company also says it will comply with valid legal requests from law enforcement to access or share that data–a likely flashpoint for some Metro leaders–and it has.
Uninformed Consent Not only is the data collection largely unregulated, but it’s fundamentally different from the kind of data collection people encounter with, say, an online app or place of business, where a privacy policy, warning, or surveillance notice may at least signal that data is being collected. Instead, Waymo vehicles are driving through Nashville neighborhoods, parking on residential streets, and collecting data about the surroundings with no public notice or consent form.
Specimens for Data Harvesting Companies profiting from data harvested by quietly surveilling local communities feels very Truman Show, if you notice it. And it’s a unifying point in the Waymo debate that can’t be ignored. There’s also a catch-22 that adds frustration to the conversation: the only way to push back is to proactively complain, assuming you make the effort to write down the time and place a Waymo vehicle was in your area recording.
The invasiveness strikes at a basic sense of privacy, autonomy, and even human decency. Most people would object if a company regularly dispatched someone who parked outside their home and recorded or hired drivers ill-equipped to navigate a downtown intersection. It certainly explains the hubNashville tip line dedicated to autonomous vehicle complaints.
Tech entrepreneurs and their investors may dismiss resistance to the emerging technology as naivety, fear-mongering, or technophobia, but the intrusion of “ghost drivers” and the technology behind them is unsettling on a very human level–a tall order for any public relations campaign to overcome.
Tennessee State Law The Tennessee Information Protection Act (TIPA) took effect July 1, 2025, and gives consumers certain rights over their personal data. It only applies to businesses that meet specific revenue and data-processing thresholds, which Waymo appears to meet. But TIPA may not give every person captured by an external Waymo camera a blanket right to tell the company to stop recording them. In short, the law provides some control over personal data but is not a “do not film me” law for people incidentally captured in public.
Nashville’s political leaders, investors, and innovators will likely treat this as a wrestling match over public buy-in. Pro tip for pro tech: it’s probably best if Waymo vehicles avoid taking up prime parking spots.
✹ WHITEPILLED
Tonight: Whitepilled with Scott Greer In his new book Whitepill, Scott Greer traces how the online Right broke the old conservative order and made Trump possible, a history he watched from inside both DC and the subcultures that displaced it. Join us Thursday, August 20 for a conversation on how the Right got here and what it takes to move from rebellion to governing.
Books will be available for purchase. This event benefits The Pamphleteer, Nashville and is priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free, privileged admittance.
HEADLINES
- 🧊 ICE changes location of Tennessee call center site from Adams to Nashville. The planned U.S. Department of Homeland Security national immigration enforcement call center has been relocated from Adams to Nashville, according to an updated federal contract database. The $63 million contract was awarded to Alaska-based Koniag Government Services, and the new listing places the facility in the Donelson neighborhood near Nashville International Airport. (Lookout)
- 💉 TBI investigating drug mix-up at Nashville hospital that caused catastrophic complications in four patients. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating a drug mix-up at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown that affected at least four patients undergoing routine surgeries. The hospital pharmacy reportedly put potassium instead of a standard pain medication into epidural syringes. At least two patients were left paralyzed, while another Nashville woman remains in intensive care on a ventilator. The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission is also reviewing the incident, while the hospital says it has identified the cause and implemented additional safety measures. (NewsChannel 5)
- 🚧 TN picks company to build I-24 choice lanes.Tennessee selected Drive-TN to build and operate two optional toll lanes in each direction along 26 miles of I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro. The company will privately finance the $9.2 billion construction cost and recoup its investment through dynamically priced tolls, while existing lanes remain free. For Nashville, the project could mean major construction impacts in South Nashville, including the loss of homes, although TDOT says the selected design reduces impacts compared with earlier plans. Construction is expected to begin in 2027. (NewsChannel 5)
✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR
What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)
DEVELOPMENT
- Rock Block Developments Move Forward Following Yearslong Halt (Scene)
- Luna Record Shop will open a second location at Nashville Yards by end of 2026 (NBJ)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎙️ Whitepilled with Scott Greer @ 6p, $50, Info
🪕 Thomas Cassell @ Station Inn, 9p, $20, Info
🎸 The Del McCoury Band w/ The Travelin McCourys @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $77+, Info
🤘 "Dad Rock Night" (a tribute to 2000's Rock) Presented by Council Hill @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, 8p, $27+, Info
🥁 The Hal Kolodney Trio @ Vinyl Tap, 7:30p, No Cover, Info
🎙️ Open Mic @ Fox and Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.