TORONTO:
Canada summoned senior officials from OpenAI to Ottawa to explain the company’s decision not to report suspicious online activity by an individual who later killed eight people this month.
OpenAI confirmed that in June 2025 its abuse detection efforts identified a ChatGPT account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old transgender woman who murdered her mother, brother, and six people at a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on February 10.
The company told AFP that the account was identified through an investigation process that looks for uses related to violent activities. The account was banned that month, but the company did not inform Canadian police at the time.
That decision was “very disturbing,” Canada’s Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon told reporters in Ottawa on Monday. “I have summoned OpenAI’s senior security team in the United States to come here to Ottawa,” Solomon said. “They will come here tomorrow (Tuesday) and we will have a meeting to get an explanation of their safety protocols,” he added.
OpenAI has said it sets a high bar when deciding whether to involve authorities after identifying a suspicious account. As for Van Rootselaar, he decided not to inform Canadian police because his use of ChatGPT did not point to credible or imminent planning of an attack.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Tumbler Ridge tragedy,” the company said.
