Six-nation survey: citizens want AI rules, not deregulation

A survey of 6,961 people across six countries finds citizens rank human rights protection as the top priority for AI regulation, followed by economic well-being and national security. Innovation lands lower.

The finding cuts against the direction governments have moved this year. Writing in TechPolicy.Press, Natali Helberger, Sophie Morosoli, Nicolas Mattis, Laurens Naudts and Claes H. de Vreese report that respondents across Brazil, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa and the US "do not want that tech companies are free to develop AI without governmental restrictions" and "want the government to decide when AI is safe or unsafe."

The April 2025 survey, fielded with Glocalities, was nationally representative by age (18-70), gender, education level, and region. The authors report a "strong consensus that users should have the right to complain if their rights and interests are not respected."

The authors line up their data against the European Commission's AI Continent Action Plan, a "radical course change" they describe as mentioning innovation 62 times across 25 pages, alongside a proposal to revoke the AI liability directive and simplify the AI Act. In the US, they cite an unsuccessful attempt to ban state-level AI regulation for ten years under the "Big Beautiful Bill."

Their closing line is aimed at the deregulation camp: "Without demand and buy-in from citizens, the AI revolution will soon resemble Zuckerberg's Metaverse: huge investments and a race without an audience willing to buy a ticket."