Google DeepMind staff in the UK push to scrap lifetime non-disparagement clauses

Employees at Google DeepMind are pressing the company to remove lifetime non-disparagement clauses from their UK employment contracts, The Washington Post reported on November 3. Staff told the paper the wording could prevent them from speaking publicly about the potential effects of the AI systems they help build.

What the staff are asking for

According to the Post, which cited two current employees and a contract it reviewed, some staff at DeepMind's London operation have contracts that forbid criticism of the company indefinitely, even after they leave. The pushback took place on an internal messaging platform, where dozens of employees joined the discussion; some reacted with a "1984" emoji, a reference to Orwell's novel. No formal petition or union involvement was reported.

Google's response so far has been partial. A company executive told staff that the clause would not be enforced against former workers, and a spokesperson told the Post that the post-termination portion has been dropped for new hires. The spokesperson also said Google has always encouraged open discussion of safety and points to internal channels for raising concerns with senior leaders. Current employees say that is not enough: they want the language removed from existing contracts to get legal certainty. One told the Post they believe the clause is unenforceable anyway, but argued its real effect is to intimidate people into staying quiet. British whistleblowing law already protects disclosures made in the public interest.

How the issue surfaced

The debate was triggered by a BBC investigation published on October 21. In it, Sofia Liguori, a London-based research engineer who had just resigned from DeepMind, criticised Google's growing work with the US and Israeli militaries. She told the BBC that, in principle, her contract barred her from criticising Google for the rest of her life, but chose to speak anyway. According to the Post, her interview prompted current UK staff to check their own contracts.

Why it matters

The dispute echoes earlier fights over gag clauses at AI labs, where researchers have argued that people inside frontier companies are often the first to see risks. Several recent public resignations at Google, OpenAI and Anthropic have cited concerns about AI's impact on society. Google has faced strong internal activism before, notably the 2018 petition that led it to drop a Pentagon drone-imaging contract.

It is not yet known whether Google will amend existing contracts, or how many DeepMind employees are covered by the lifetime wording.