By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Canada will press OpenAI officials on Tuesday about their safety protocols after it emerged the ChatGPT maker did not contact police about an account it banned belonging to an alleged mass shooter, a government minister said.
Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, is suspected of killing eight people on February 10 before taking her own life. OpenAI said it banned her account last year on ChatGPT for policy violations, which it said did not meet internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement.
Evan Solomon, the federal minister in charge of artificial intelligence, has summoned OpenAI’s top safety officials for a meeting in Ottawa.
“I’m hoping (they) … will tell us more details about their safety protocols, their escalation thresholds and how they keep Canadians safe, and if they have a threat that they perceive, what the technology does and what the human process does,” he told reporters.
“We do want to know exactly what OpenAI does so Canadians have an understanding of what’s going on and some transparency.”
A spokesperson for Solomon said the minister would not speak to the media after the meeting, since it was scheduled to take place late on Tuesday.
In 2024, the Liberal government introduced draft legislation to crack down on online hate, but the effort stalled amid criticism it was too broad in scope. Ministers say they will try again this year with a revised bill.
“All options are on the table when it comes to understanding what we can do about AI chatbots,” said Solomon.
Van Rootselaar, who police say was born male but identified as a woman and began transitioning six years ago, had a history of mental health problems. The killings took place in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, a town of around 2,400.
OpenAI says it banned Van Rootselaar’s account in 2025 after it was flagged by systems that identify “misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities.” The company considered contacting police, but determined the account did not meet the threshold of posing an imminent and credible risk of serious physical harm to others.
(Reporting by David LjunggrenEditing by Rod Nickel)
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