British Columbia privacy watchdog is investigating OpenAI over the Tumbler Ridge shooter's ChatGPT data; OpenAI seeks to quash the probe
British Columbia's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is investigating whether OpenAI mishandled the personal information of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooter. The probe covers personal information given to ChatGPT through prompts and how the service uses it, including the potential for ChatGPT's responses to influence behaviour. The investigation came to light through a B.C. Supreme Court petition in which OpenAI asks the court to quash it. Failing that, OpenAI wants the OIPC's order to produce documents, including all of the shooter's chat logs and its records on whether to refer the account to police, found overly broad. OpenAI argues the order far exceeds the OIPC's authority under the Personal Information Protection Act and violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. An earlier joint investigation by federal and provincial privacy regulators found that OpenAI had broken federal and provincial privacy laws.
What the AI did
The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI staff flagged the shooter's violent messages to ChatGPT and wanted to contact police, but company leadership shut them down. OpenAI banned the account instead, and the shooter opened another one and continued sending violent messages, including planning shooting scenarios. British Columbia's privacy regulator is examining how personal information given to ChatGPT through prompts was handled and used, including whether ChatGPT's responses could influence behaviour.
First reported October 28, 2026 · Added to the register November 4, 2026 · 1 source
- Developer
- OpenAI OpCo LLC
- Model
- ChatGPT
- Country
- Canada (British Columbia)
- When it happened
- Not stated in the sources
- First reported
- October 28, 2026
What this means for you
Could this affect you?
If you offer a conversational AI service in Canada. Organisations offering conversational AI in Canada could face similar demands from privacy regulators over how they handle personal information in prompts and how they decide whether to report violent users to police.
What to check
- Document how flagged violent or dangerous user content is reviewed.
- Set out when flagged content is escalated to law enforcement.
- Keep review and escalation decisions auditable.
- Prepare for privacy regulators to request chat logs and internal escalation records.
Areas of your AI programme this touches
Every fact and its source (5)
- Date of mass shootingFeb. 10“Van Rootselaar committed the mass shooting on Feb. 10”[1]
- OIPC demandAll of the shooter's chat logs and referral records“That includes a demand for all of Van Rootselaar's chat logs”[1]
- OpenAI court petitionOpenAI seeks to quash the OIPC investigation“seeking an order to quash the investigation, which began on June 10”[1]
- Prior regulator findingOpenAI found to have broken federal and provincial privacy laws“The company had broken federal and provincial privacy laws, including over-collecting personal information”[1]
- OpenAI response to shooter's accountAccount banned; shooter opened another“OpenAI banned the account, and Jesse Van Rootselaar went on to make another account”[1]
Sources
- British Columbia privacy watchdog investigates OpenAI use of Tumbler Ridge shooter's personal informationtheuknews.com · October 28, 2026
How this record is classified. Severity N: a legal action or test finding, not a harm. Evidence: Confirmed, meaning a company, official or court statement.
The facts in At a glance and in Every fact and its source are quoted from the sources listed. The summary, What the AI did and What this means for you are written from those sources and checked against them automatically before publication. Records reflect what has been disclosed, not everything that has happened. Incidents are found through news feeds and the GDELT Project.
