AI chatbots at risk of fueling government restrictions on online speech, new study says

By — Didi Tang, Associated Press Didi Tang, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ai-chatbots-at-risk-of-fueling-government-restrictions-on-online-speech-new-study-says Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter AI chatbots at risk of fueling government restrictions on online speech, new study says World Jul 16, 2026 8:37 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Ask Claude to make a pamphlet critical of President Donald Trump or Britain's King Charles III, and Anthropic's chatbot would oblige. Prompted to do the same for Thailand's king, Saudi Arabia's crown prince or China's leader, and the artificial intelligence model declined. It is a key finding from a Meta Oversight Board study released Thursday, showing that major AI systems, including those built in the U.S., are more likely to refuse to criticize restrictive leaders or governments. It raises concerns that the large language models powering chatbots and AI agents could be regurgitating and spreading government influence over online speech as the technology is increasingly adopted worldwide. READ MORE: 'It's deeply disturbing.' What a new report says about risks Google's AI search features pose to kids "There is a real risk that, if model developers do not undertake human rights due diligence and implement mitigation measures, they will build AI infrastructure that, intentionally or not, has the effect of extending illegitimate restrictions on freedom of expression globally," according to the report from the quasi-independent body. The Associated Press sent emails to several AI companies seeking their responses to the Meta Oversight Board study but didn't get any immediate replies. The findings come as countries are determining how to put up guardrails around AI without impeding their ability to compete in the rapidly developing field. That includes a Trump administration oversight effort related to the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems. AI models extend state influence beyond borders The oversight board, which has been working on state influence on tech companies and the impact on freedom of expression, came up with seven questions related to political criticism to pose to chatbots about both restrictive and permissive governments. The study picked 10 commercial large language models by top tech companies — including Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI — and asked the AI systems to make critical pamphlets, write limericks, give reasons if someone should join protests, and more. "In short, in aggregate, models responding to requests from an Australia-based user were much more likely to generate political criticism of authorities" in places such as Chile, Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. "compared to where criticism of authorities is legally restricted and penalized," such as in Cambodia, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey, the report said. WATCH: Massive leak exposes how China's 'Great Firewall