Canada is calling on OpenAI to implement stricter safety measures in the wake of the Feb. 10 mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
On Tuesday, OpenAI representatives met with government officials in Ottawa after it was revealed that the tech company had banned the ChatGPT account belonging to the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, last year but hadn’t informed police of its contents. Several months later, Rootselaar would kill eight people and injure nearly 30 others in one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings to date.
Speaking to CBC News, AI Minister Evan Solomon expressed disappointment over the government’s meeting with OpenAI. “We expected [OpenAI] to have some concrete proposals that we could understand, that [they] had changed their protocols in the wake of the horrific tragedy in Tumbler Ridge. But we did not hear any substantial new safety protocols outside of some changes to their model,” Solomon said.
In a separate interview with CBC News, B.C. Premier David Eby said he believes OpenAI could have done more to help prevent the tragedy. “From the outside, it looks like they had a chance to prevent this. I don’t know that for sure, but it sure looks like it. And I want to share with them the devastation that they caused on behalf of these families,” Eby said.
Last week, OpenAI confirmed to CBC News that Rootselaar’s account was taken down last June due to concerning search queries, but it didn’t contact police because it didn’t meet the “higher threshold required.” According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI’s automated review system flagged Rootselaar’s account for inputting scenarios involving gun violence, leading about a dozen employees to debate whether Canadian law enforcement should be notified. While some of them urged OpenAI to reach out to the proper authorities, leaders within the tech giant ultimately opted against it.
Justifying its decision, OpenAI now says Rootselaar’s activity didn’t constitute a credible risk of serious harm to others. It added that there’s also a danger in “over-enforcement” when reporting cases because it could distress young people and even result in a privacy invasion.
While debate rages on regarding OpenAI’s alleged culpability in the tragedy, investigations have pointed to other contributing issues. For instance, it was revealed that Rootselaar had created a mass shooting simulator in the massively popular online game Roblox, which has long been criticized for a lack of content moderation regarding hateful and sexual material. Roblox says the simulator was only played by a handful of people and was taken down on Feb. 11, one day after the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.
Questions have also been raised regarding why guns that were confiscated by Rootselaar’s mother were ultimately returned to the home they lived in. While the guns were legally owned by Rootselaar’s mother, gun control advocates note that authorities are permitted to seize them in certain circumstances, including those involving mental illness. Rootselaar had a well-documented history of mental health struggles, including a police visit in spring 2025 and multiple cases of hospitalization.
Clearly, then, there are multiple factors at play here that need to be addressed to hopefully prevent another horrible tragedy from occurring.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: CBC News
