---
id: "2026-11-03-deepmind-uk-staff-non-disparagement-ai-risk"
url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-11-03-deepmind-uk-staff-non-disparagement-ai-risk/"
as_of: "2026-11-09T21:13:00+01:00"
date: "2026-11-03"
date_precision: day
category: policy-safety
importance: 3
confidence: medium
status: [Partly confirmed]
sources: 1
editor: human editor
human_review: null
version: "2026-11-04"
---

As of: 2026-11-09 21:13 CET.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-11-03-deepmind-uk-staff-non-disparagement-ai-risk/

# Washington Post: UK Google DeepMind staff ask leaders to drop clauses that bar them from warning about AI risks for life

The Washington Post reported on Nov 3, 2026 that UK-based Google DeepMind employees are urging leadership to drop non- disparagement clauses that, they say, bar them from publicly warning about AI risks even after leaving Google.

## Key facts
- Clauses reportedly apply after employees leave (a 'lifetime ban' on criticising the company, per the headline)
- Echoes OpenAI's 2024 equity-clawback controversy and the 'Right to Warn' letter

## What happened

Paywalled; written from the headline and Techmeme's summary ("Sources: UK-based Google DeepMind employees urge leaders to drop
non-disparagement clauses barring public warnings about AI risks even after they leave Google"). Number of staff, form of the request
and Google's response not verified; fill in when readable.

## Your AI and this story

- GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 187 days after its cutoff
- Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): 126 days after its cutoff
- Gemini 4 Argon (training cutoff March 2026): 217 days after its cutoff
- Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): 156 days after its cutoff

## Sources

1. [Washington Post: Google researchers are fighting the company to tell the world what they know about AI](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/11/03/google-deepmind-staff-protest-lifetime-ban-criticizing-company/) (washingtonpost.com, press)

## Changes

- 2026-11-04 (filed): Created

## Related

- 2024-06-04: ["A Right to Warn about Advanced AI"](https://postcutoff.com/e/2024-06-04-right-to-warn-letter/index.md)