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AIActive today · day 6

British Columbia Sues OpenAI, Sam Altman Over Tumbler Ridge School Shooting

The Canadian province says OpenAI's safety team flagged the shooter's violent ChatGPT chats months before the attack but never alerted police.

newest coverage 5h agosummary written 1d ago104 pieces2.9k likes & upvotes47 comments MastodonHacker NewsNewswiresRedditXBlueskyGoogle NewsYouTube

What to know

  • British Columbia's lawsuit alleges OpenAI's safety team flagged the shooter's account for human review in June 2025, months before the June/2026 attack that killed eight people, but never alerted police.
  • The suit, filed in California federal court, names both OpenAI and Sam Altman and seeks funds to rebuild the school along with a demand for the shooter's ChatGPT logs.
  • OpenAI had already asked a California court to dismiss earlier private lawsuits over the same shooting days before the province's suit was filed.
  • A newer allegation claims OpenAI concealed chat logs specifically to avoid exposing other users its systems had flagged for violent content.

The dispute Whether OpenAI's flagging of the account should have triggered a legal duty to warn police, versus concern that imposing such a duty invites broad surveillance and moderation overreach. · positions read across 15 posts and comments

some voices

ChatGPT likely couldn't have materially assisted the shooter, and the case risks justifying government surveillance overreach.

  • “I really doubt even with 'removed' guardrails it replied with anything that materially assisted anything cause really what info would it even had... lets not let the government crawl away with another surveillance mandate that will not be…”

    SilverAgedSentiel · Reddit ↗
some voices

Technical bans and account blocks are trivially bypassed, making stricter enforcement largely symbolic unless full deanonymization is imposed.

  • “Getting around account, IP, or even hardware blocks is easy today even if the company tries to stop it... if we did eventually go to that kind of system, all anonymity online goes out the window for the average person.”

    This-Beginning-5026 · Reddit ↗
some voices

Moderating violent-but-not-child-safety content is genuinely ambiguous, and drawing the line too strictly causes its own harms.

  • “violence or incitement, missing etc are far more shades of grey - and sometimes the line is drawn in the wrong place, and yes, sometimes bad things happen. That’s not good, but neither is drawing the line ultra strict and upending…”

    _DuranDuran_ · Reddit ↗

Niki Sharma British Columbia Attorney GeneralOpenAI Defendant, maker of ChatGPTSam AltmanSam Altman OpenAI CEO, named defendantJesse Van Rootselaar 18-year-old Tumbler Ridge shooter

British Columbia Sues OpenAI, Sam Altman Over Tumbler Ridge School Shooting
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideospostscomments

Peak 22 pieces in two hours at Sep 21, 6 PM; 104 pieces over 6 days (59 articles · 1 video · 40 posts · 4 comments) Sep 17, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — 6 pieces · 1 article · 5 posts — Mastodon 3, Hacker News 1, Reddit 1, +1 moreSep 21, 4 PM — 11 pieces · 6 articles · 5 posts — Newswires 6, Mastodon 5Sep 21, 6 PM — 22 pieces · 20 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 20, Mastodon 2Sep 21, 8 PM — 7 pieces · 5 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 5, Mastodon 1, X 1Sep 21, 10 PM — 8 pieces · 3 articles · 5 posts — Mastodon 5, Newswires 2, Bluesky 1Yesterday, 12 AM — 11 pieces · 10 articles · 1 post — Google News 6, Newswires 3, Mastodon 2Yesterday, 2 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Bluesky 1, Newswires 1Yesterday, 4 AM — 9 pieces · 7 articles · 2 posts — Google News 5, Mastodon 2, Newswires 2Yesterday, 6 AM — 4 pieces · 1 article · 3 posts — Mastodon 2, X 1, Newswires 1Yesterday, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1Yesterday, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Yesterday, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Yesterday, 2 PM — 8 pieces · 2 articles · 3 posts · 3 comments — Reddit 4, Mastodon 3, Newswires 1Yesterday, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Yesterday, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 1 video · 1 comment — Reddit 1, YouTube 1Yesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Today, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Today, 2 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Bluesky 1, Mastodon 1Today, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Today, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Today, 6 PM — quietToday, 8 PM — quietToday, 10 PM — quiet 123–5
Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21yesterdaynow · 11:20 PM ET
  1. 5

    Suit alleges OpenAI hid logs to avoid exposing other users

    Ars Technica reported the lawsuit demands OpenAI pay to rebuild the school and alleges the company concealed the shooter's chat logs specifically to avoid outing other violent users flagged by its systems.

    “I really doubt even with 'removed' guardrails it replied with anything that materially assisted anything cause really what info would it even had.”
    — SilverAgedSentiel, Reddit commenter · source
    1. 2 outlets Lawsuit demands OpenAI pay for new school after ChatGPT used in shooting

      first by Mastodon, 1d ago · also Ars Technica

    • gentlem.bsky.social

      arstechnica.com/tech-policy/... In addition to the demanded disclosures & changes, BC is suing OpenAI for the cost to rebuild a new school in #TumblerRidge & for expenses of emergency services used in response to the tragedy.

      gentlem.bsky.socialBluesky1d ago2▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch

    • delusion that the shooter already had, that's point i'm making you are talking basically to yourself when communicating with an AI. I really doubt even with 'removed' guardrails it replied with anything that materially assisted anything cause really what info would it even had. If he's writing his fantasy/conspiracies what do you expect it to do?…

      SilverAgedSentielr/news1d agoview on r/news ↗
    • shawninmontreal.bsky.social

      Lawsuit demands OpenAI pay for new school after ChatGPT used in Tumbler Ridge shooting

      shawninmontreal.bsky.socialBluesky5h ago2▲view on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  2. 4

    Filing confirmed in California federal court

    Reporting confirmed the province filed suit in California federal court, alleging OpenAI failed to warn police after internally flagging the shooter's ChatGPT activity.

    1. 1 outlet British Columbia sued OpenAI over ChatGPT's role in a deadly Canadian school shooting

      first by Quartz, 1d ago

  3. 3

    Lawsuit names Sam Altman personally alongside OpenAI

    The Guardian reported the suit names Sam Altman as a defendant and alleges the deadly attack could have been prevented had OpenAI warned police of the shooter's ChatGPT use.

  4. 2

    Suit details show OpenAI flagged shooter's account in June 2025

    Coverage detailed the lawsuit's claim that OpenAI's safety team flagged 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar's account for human review in June 2025, months before the attack that killed eight people, without alerting authorities.

    “The lawsuit says OpenAI flagged 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar’s account for human review in June 2025…”
    — @MarioNawfal
    • forbes.com

      The province of British Columbia sued the company for failing to alert authorities about the shooter’s violent ChatGPT conversations, despite it being flagged internally.

      forbes.comBluesky1d ago1.5k▲view on Bluesky ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch

    • 🇨🇦 British Columbia is suing OpenAI and Sam Altman over the Tumbler Ridge school shooting. The company reportedly spotted warning signs months before 8 people were killed. The lawsuit says OpenAI flagged 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar’s account for human review in June 2025

      @MarioNawfalX1d ago12▲view on X ↗
    all of them →
  5. 1

    British Columbia announces and files suit against OpenAI

    B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the province is suing OpenAI, and the government filed the lawsuit in a California federal court on Monday alleging OpenAI failed to notify law enforcement of the shooter's threats made on ChatGPT before the mass shooting.

    1. 12 outlets British Columbia sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting

      first by qz.com, 1d ago · also NYT, Türkiye Today, Al Jazeera, Seeking Alpha, Engadget, CBC +5

      8 more headlines
    2. 10 outlets British Columbia Sues OpenAI Over Canada Mass Shooting Warning Failure

      first by Bloomberg Tech, 2d ago · also WSJ, SCMP, TechSpot, The Independent, Lawyer Monthly, Chat GPT Is Eating the World +3

      10 more headlines
    3 more claims →
    • gvwilson@mastodon.social

      Good: https://www. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-col umbia/bc-government-announce-update-openai-legal-action-9.7352395

      gvwilson@mastodon.socialMastodon2d ago11▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch

    • B.C. government sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge mass shooting https://www. theglobeandmail.com/canada/bri tish-columbia/video-bc-government-sues-openai-over-tumbler-ridge-mass-shooting/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Canadian news @ canadian-news-globeandmail

      globeandmail@flipboard.comMastodon2d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    • jockr@mastodon.social

      OpenAI asks California court to dismiss lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting | CBC News https://www. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-col umbia/openai-shooting-court-dismiss-9.7348748

      jockr@mastodon.socialMastodon5d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  6. background

    OpenAI asks court to dismiss earlier Tumbler Ridge lawsuits — OpenAI petitioned a California court to dismiss prior lawsuits filed over the Tumbler Ridge shooting, ahead of British Columbia's own suit days later.

What people are saying 6 voices from 2 sites · best of 15 · verbatim