OnePlus pulls AI Writer tool after users flag censorship on Tibet, Dalai Lama, and Taiwan
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OnePlus Removes AI Writing Feature to Fix It After Censorship Claims
OnePlus has disabled one of its most popular AI features to fix a "technical issue" after claims of censorship within the tool. AI Writer, within the Notes app, allows you to call on OnePlus AI to help with you generating or editing text on select gadgets. Some users have reported being unable to generate content around topics often censored within the brand's home market of China. Multiple reports on Reddit, Twitter and the OnePlus forum show examples of people trying to generate content referring to the Dalai Lama and Taiwan before being given an answer of "try entering something else." Some report the text begins to generate, but then quickly disappears and shows an error message. Other users also found the same would happen when asking the AI to generate content about the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. All of these topics are often censored for users of tech products in China, and it appears those rules have come over to the global version of OnePlus AI. In a post on its community forum, OnePlus described the decision to temporarily remove AI Writer as a way to fix "technical inconsistencies." It said it needed more time to address the problem on Dec. 6 after conducting an internal investigation. The feature has yet to be reintroduced by Dec. 8, as confirmed by Android Authority. A representative for OnePlus' software team said, "As the issue requires more time to address, we're temporarily disabling the AI Writer in Notes to ensure a consistent user experience while we refine the underlying technical issue." "OnePlus remains committed to delivering Community-first technology, and any unexpected behaviour is unintentional." OnePlus didn't share whether a specific AI model may be causing the issues, and there's no word on a specific timeline for when AI Writer will be reintroduced to phones and tablets.
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OnePlus temporarily pulls AI tool after censorship claims
OnePlus has now confirmed that this is a "technical issue" and has temporarily disabled the tool while it addresses the problem. Recent OnePlus phones ship with several AI tools, including an AI Writer tool that generates text content via a prompt. Some OnePlus owners claimed that the AI tool is biased towards China and censors specific topics, and OnePlus has now issued an explanation. OnePlus owners on Reddit and Twitter reported that the AI Writer tool refused to generate content regarding topics like Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. More specifically, it's claimed that the tool simply tells users to "try entering something else." While it's understandable that OnePlus phones in China might have restrictions around these topics, we can see why global users and governments wouldn't be happy with these same restrictions. For what it's worth, we were able to generate content regarding most of these topics a few days ago (e.g., Arunachal Pradesh, the Dalai Lama). This indeed pointed to a bug or region-specific issue rather than a widespread problem.
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OnePlus Halts an AI Tool Temporarily, Here's Why
AI Writer is a tool from the company which generates texts when given a prompt. OnePlus, a Chinese tech brand, has halted an AI (artificial intelligence) tool temporarily. The brand has been shipping its new and recent devices with AI Suite, which includes many tools such as AI Writer. AI Writer is a tool from the company which generates texts when given a prompt. However, some users have raised a claim that this AI Writer tool is not responding to certain topics such as Arunachal Pradesh, Dalai Lama, and Tibet. This has made the users feel that the tool is biased towards China. Read More - Realme Watch 5 Launched in India: Price and Specifications While these restrictions would make sense in China, but for the global market, it wouldn't sit well with the regulators, as well as the users. Following this development, OnePlus has confirmed on its community forum that this has been due to a technical issue. Thus, the brand has temporarily disabled the feature. Read More - OnePlus 15R to Come with 7400mAh Battery OnePlus didn't say anything for when this feature will be available again for the users. The issue certainly raises a question, are other Chinese brands doing the same and thus requires a thorough investigation as well. OPPO's ColorOS might have the same issue, as both OnePlus and OPPO phones have the same base.
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OnePlus has temporarily disabled its AI Writer feature after users reported it refused to generate content about sensitive topics like the Dalai Lama, Tibet, and Arunachal Pradesh. The company cited a technical issue but faces questions about whether Chinese market restrictions inadvertently affected global users.
OnePlus Disables AI Writer Amid Pro-China Bias Allegations
OnePlus has temporarily disabled AI tool within its Notes app after widespread user reports revealed the feature refused to generate content on sensitive topics. The AI Writer, designed to help users generate and edit text on select devices, began displaying error messages when prompted with topics like the Dalai Lama, Tibet, Taiwan, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh
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. Users attempting to create content around these subjects received a stark message: "try entering something else." In some cases, text would begin generating before quickly disappearing, replaced by an error notification1
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Source: PC Magazine
Community Forum Erupts With Censorship Claims
Multiple reports surfaced across Reddit, Twitter, and the OnePlus community forum, documenting instances where the artificial intelligence feature appeared to apply restrictions commonly enforced in China's tech ecosystem to global users
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. The pattern raised immediate concerns about whether the Chinese brand had inadvertently—or intentionally—extended its home market's content restrictions to international customers. While such limitations might be expected for OnePlus devices sold within China, their presence in global versions sparked backlash from users and raised regulatory questions2
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.OnePlus Cites Technical Issue, Offers No Timeline
On December 6, OnePlus addressed the controversy through a post on its community forum, characterizing the problem as "technical inconsistencies" requiring additional time to resolve
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. A representative from the company's software team stated: "As the issue requires more time to address, we're temporarily disabling the AI Writer in Notes to ensure a consistent user experience while we refine the underlying technical issue"1
. The company emphasized its commitment to "Community-first technology" and insisted any unexpected behavior was unintentional. As of December 8, the feature remained disabled with no specific timeline announced for its return1
.Related Stories
Testing Reveals Inconsistent Behavior Across Regions
Interestingly, Android Authority reported being able to generate content regarding most of these sensitive topics just days before the widespread reports emerged, suggesting the issue might be region-specific or intermittent rather than a blanket restriction
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. This inconsistency supports OnePlus's technical issue explanation, though it leaves open questions about the underlying AI model's training data and content filtering mechanisms. The company has not disclosed which specific AI model powers the feature or whether the problem stems from the model itself or implementation issues1
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Source: Android Authority
Broader Implications for Chinese Brands Operating Globally
The incident raises critical questions about how Chinese brands navigate differing content standards between their home market and international territories. Given that OnePlus shares its software foundation with OPPO through ColorOS, concerns have emerged about whether similar issues might affect other devices from Chinese brands
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. For global users and regulators, the episode highlights the need for transparency in how AI tools handle content generation, particularly when those tools originate from companies operating under different regulatory frameworks. The short-term impact involves OnePlus users losing access to a popular productivity feature, but the long-term implications could affect trust in AI features from Chinese brands more broadly. Watch for how OnePlus addresses the technical issue upon relaunch and whether other manufacturers face similar scrutiny over their AI implementations.References
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