British Columbia is exploring legal action against OpenAI for its failure to alert authorities to threats made on ChatGPT before the February mass shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge. The province’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, announced Tuesday that the government will pursue every available avenue to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable.
Province cites serious concerns over failure to notify law enforcement
“We will pursue every available avenue to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable,” Sharma said in a statement. “We are taking this step because there are serious concerns about OpenAI’s failure to notify law enforcement after threats were flagged on its platform.”
Police alleged that Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed eight people and injured 27 before taking her own life in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings. OpenAI flagged Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account in June 2025 — several months before the shooting — by systems that check for misuse, including potential violent activity. The company banned the account but said it did not meet the threshold for referral to law enforcement at the time.
OpenAI’s response and policy changes after the tragedy
After the shooting, OpenAI contacted Canadian authorities. In February, the company told Canadian lawmakers that, under newly updated company rules, it would have told police about the account earlier. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community in a letter in April.
“The events in Tumbler Ridge are a tragedy. We have a zero-tolerance policy for using our tools to assist in committing violence,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in an email, citing its enhanced referral protocol.
Separate lawsuits and legal representation
OpenAI and Altman already face separate lawsuits from victims of the shooting and their families. B.C. has retained lawyers locally and in California to explore legal options against the company.
