Sen. Bernie Sanders accused Google of pressuring U.S. schools to accept artificial intelligence, calling its new education policy “extortion” and renewing his demand to pause advanced AI development. His criticism followed Google’s November 3 announcement that Gemini-related tools and Google Search will be disabled by default for K-12 student accounts until school administrators enable them. Administrators can choose which services to activate, but schools that reject AI entirely may also lose access to Google Search. Google says its changes give educators more control, while critics question whether the company has enough flexibility to exclude AI from classroom research. In its November 3 announcement, Google said it is updating controls for Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search, and said it developed the changes after hearing from schools, teachers, researchers, and policymakers who wanted greater control over classroom AI. Google also introduced Guided Learning in Google Classroom globally and is preparing a separate pilot for Guided Learning in Search at selected U.S. schools later in November. In a follow-up post on X, Google said its announcement gives schools “more choice, not less.” Google education executive Chris Phillips said Search and AI are “deeply integrated,” so students in schools that disable AI entirely will not have access to Search. In his November 4 post, Sanders linked the policy to President Donald.