OpenAI says it has banned accounts linked to Chinese government over social media monitoring requests

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has announced that it has banned several ChatGPT accounts with suspected links to Chinese government entities after those users requested proposals for monitoring social media conversations. In its latest public threat report, the Microsoft-based AI company stated that some individuals violated the startup's national security policy by asking its chatbot to outline social media “listening” tools and other monitoring concepts.

News agency Reuters that this action raises fresh safety concerns over the potential misuse of generative AI amid intense geopolitical competition between the US and China to control the technology's development and rules.

OpenAI also banned several Chinese language accounts

OpenAI has detailed other bans as well, including several Chinese-language accounts that used ChatGPT to assist phishing and malware campaigns. The company says that these users also asked the model to research additional automation capabilities that could be achieved through China's rival AI firm, DeepSeek.

Furthermore, the company banned accounts tied to suspected Russian-speaking criminal groups that were using the chatbot to help develop certain malware.

The Microsoft-backed startup has been publicly reporting threats since February of last year and stated that its models successfully refused overtly malicious prompts. Overall, OpenAI has disrupted and reported more than 40 networks since it began this reporting.

“We found no evidence of new tactics or that our models provided threat actors with novel offensive capabilities,” the company said in the report.

OpenAI, which recently became the world's most valuable startup at a $500 billion valuation, now boasts over 800 million weekly ChatGPT users. It recently struck a deal with AMD, allowing it to get 10% of the chipmaking company.