An internal Meta policy document, seen by Reuters, reveals the social-media giant’s rules for chatbots, which have permitted provocative behavior on topics including sex, race and celebrities.

The standards also allow the bots to make "statements that demean people on the basis of their protected characteristics," such as "black people are dumber than white people."

The revelations have intensified bi-partisan scrutiny of the Mark Zuckerberg-owned, tech giant's safety protocols.