British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting

TORONTO — British Columbia sued OpenAI in U.S. federal court Monday, claiming that the company had failed to report to the police the violent comments made by a user of its chatbot who went on to kill nine people and injure two.

The shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed herself, authorities said, after the Feb. 10 rampage that shook Tumbler Ridge, a mountain town of 2,400 people in rural British Columbia.

Van Rootselaar documented some of her mental health issues and curiosity about violence, firearms and illegal narcotics on social media, and had at least two ChatGPT accounts. One account was shut down in June last year, eight months before the attacks, for having violated OpenAI’s user policy, but the company did not alert authorities to the nature of the content.

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More than 30 lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI by families of the victims, including that of a 12-year-old student, Maya Gebala, who sustained a life-altering brain injury after she was shot at close range three times.

Niki Sharma, British Columbia’s attorney general, said the province was “bringing the fight to OpenAI” by pursuing litigation in California, where the company’s headquarters are, as opposed to in Canada. The move also raises the possibility of a large payout to the victims; personal injuries compensation in Canada is generally lower than in the United States.

“No company should be exempt from accountability simply because the technology is new,” Sharma told reporters at a news conference Monday afternoon.

In its lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, the government claims that the shooting could have been stopped if the company had heeded internal claims, made by a human review team, to refer its concerns to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

But, the government alleges, leaders at OpenAI rejected this option and instead deactivated Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account, though she retained access to the platform through a different account. The lawsuit cited a report in The Wall Street Journal about OpenAI’s review process.

In April, roughly two months after the shooting, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, apologized for the company’s failure to notify law enforcement in an open letter. David Eby, premier of British Columbia, called the apology “necessary and yet grossly insufficient,” and urged the company to undertake reforms that would mandate law enforcement reporting.

But, in its suit, the government claims that the company has not meaningfully engaged in safety-regulation discussions in the shooting’s aftermath.

Representatives from OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Legal proceedings cannot undo the immense loss experienced by the people of Tumbler Ridge,” Sharma said. “But pursuing accountability matters, transparency matters, and strengthening protections to help prevent future tragedies matters.”

The community’s school board, after consulting with families, began work to demolish the school last month. While specific amounts for the damages sought were not included in the lawsuit, Sharma said the government would possibly use funds sought to reimburse the cost of building a new school.