Google DeepMind employees are pressing the company to remove contractual restrictions they say could prevent them from warning the public about artificial intelligence risks, according to an exclusive Washington Post report based on a reviewed employment contract and interviews with two current workers. Some London-based employees have contracts barring them from criticizing Google even after leaving, the report said; the employees spoke anonymously because they feared retaliation. Google says it does not enforce those restrictions against former employees and has changed its terms for new hires, with a spokesperson telling the Post that the company updated terms for new hires, including removing the post-termination aspect of non-disparagement clauses, and that it has always encouraged open dialogue about safety and responsibility. Workers want the language removed from existing contracts, arguing that assurances from executives leave uncertainty about their ability to speak publicly. The dispute gained momentum after former DeepMind research engineer Sofia Liguori spoke to the BBC about her opposition to Google's military AI work, prompting current employees in Britain to examine their own agreements; some discovered similar non-disparagement provisions, and dozens subsequently participated in an internal messaging discussion about the language. Employees said the restrictions discourage public discussion at a moment when AI capabilities and applications are changing rapidly, and one worker told the Post that even a restriction they believed unenforceable could frighten colleagues into withholding information.