Sourced from 6 news outlets · most facts from statements · 1 point in dispute. How we sourced this
OpenAI is asking B.C. Supreme Court to stop a privacy investigation tied to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, putting the company’s handling of ChatGPT user information before the courts.
Key facts
- OpenAI filed a petition for judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to quash the B.C. privacy commissioner’s investigation into aspects of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting and an order compelling document production.
- The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia said it became concerned after media reports about Jesse Van Rootselaar’s use of ChatGPT and opened an investigation into the use of her personal information in connection with the Tumbler Ridge shooting.
- The OIPC said its investigation focuses on whether OpenAI’s use of personal information (including from prompts, uploaded content, usage data, and interactions with other users) in delivering ChatGPT responses would be considered appropriate in the circumstances, including the potential for responses to influence behaviour.
- OpenAI argues the investigation lacks reasonable grounds and exceeds the OIPC’s statutory and constitutional authority, and it says the matters were already addressed in a joint investigation by Canadian privacy commissioners.
Read the original document: canlii.org, linked by teresascassa.substack.com.
The company has filed a petition for judicial review seeking to quash the B.C. privacy commissioner’s investigation and an order requiring OpenAI to produce documents. The dispute centres on whether the province’s privacy watchdog can examine how personal information was used in ChatGPT’s responses to Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar.
OIPC Investigation Into ChatGPT Use
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia said it became concerned after media reports about Van Rootselaar’s use of ChatGPT. It opened an investigation into the use of her personal information in connection with the shooting.
The probe follows broader fallout from the Tumbler Ridge shooting, including the 30 new lawsuits against OpenAI detailed in The Canada Report’s coverage of the case. That wider legal dispute provides context for the privacy commissioner’s focus on how the company handled personal information in ChatGPT responses.
The office says its work is not limited to how OpenAI reviewed an account for potential policy violations. Its stated focus is whether the company’s use of personal information in delivering ChatGPT responses was appropriate in the circumstances.
That information can include material from prompts, uploaded content, usage data and interactions with other users. The commissioner is also examining the potential for chatbot responses to influence behaviour.
OpenAI Challenges Commissioner’s Authority
OpenAI argues the investigation has no reasonable grounds and goes beyond the OIPC’s statutory and constitutional authority. The company says the questions being pursued have already been addressed through a joint investigation by Canadian privacy commissioners.
In its court filing, OpenAI characterizes the production demand as overly broad. It says the privacy office is reaching into matters of online safety and content moderation.
The OIPC’s investigation includes questions about whether age affected OpenAI’s use of personal information, as well as the company’s personalization, customization, content review and moderation in relation to Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT use.
Records Sought Include Chat Logs
The commissioner’s production order seeks extensive records, including Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT logs and documents related to OpenAI’s decision not to refer her to law enforcement before the shootings.
Substack reported that the OIPC issued an order under section 38(1) of B.C.’s Personal Information Protection Act to compel OpenAI to provide information for the investigation.
The privacy office has said it is limiting public disclosure because of the subject’s sensitivity, while maintaining that it needs the records to determine whether there was a breach of provincial privacy law.
Other Legal Action Against OpenAI
OpenAI shut down Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account in June 2025 after it was flagged for violent content, but did not notify police at that time.
CBC News reported that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman later wrote to the Tumbler Ridge community to apologize for the company’s failure to alert Canadian authorities about the activity.
The judicial-review petition unfolds alongside other legal action. The B.C. government has pursued legal options against OpenAI, while victims and their families have filed lawsuits against the company.
What we don't know yet
- It is unclear when the case will be heard in court.
- CTV reports that OpenAI’s B.C. Supreme Court filing does not reproduce the list of questions and documents the OIPC sought to compel.
How outlets covered it
- The Canadian Press (carried by Winnipeg Free Press) — “OpenAI challenging B.C. privacy order for details of Tumbler Ridge shooting”, Oct. 30, 2026. Led with OpenAI's judicial challenge to the document-production order. Quoted Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
- teresascassa.substack.com — “OpenAI challenges BC Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into chatbot privacy issues linked to Tumbler Ridge tragedy”, Oct. 30, 2026. By Teresa Scassa. Led with the scope of the Commissioner's authority under PIPA. Quoted OpenAI; Commissioner; Commissioners of Canada, BC, Alberta and Quebec. Not in the other reports here: Bill C-36's relevance to behavioural influence; OpenAI's claimed compelled disclosure of chat logs in U.S. litigation.
- CBC News (CBC/Radio-Canada) — “OpenAI asks B.C. court to quash privacy commissioner investigation of Tumbler Ridge massacre”, Oct. 29, 2026. By Karin Larsen. Led with OpenAI's lawsuit to quash the OIPC investigation. Quoted OpenAI; OIPC. Not in the other reports here: Sam Altman's letter of apology to Tumbler Ridge.
- Campbell River Mirror (Black Press Media) — “OpenAI suing to stop B.C. privacy commissioner's Tumbler Ridge investigation”, Oct. 28, 2026. By Mark Page. Quoted Privacy commissioner Michael Harvey; OpenAI. Not in the other reports here: OpenAI's next-day report to the RCMP.
- CTV News (Ian Holliday) and biv.com (Graeme Wood) reported the same facts and quoted only OIPC and OpenAI, with nothing the others lacked.
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Support The Canada Report →How we sourced this story
| Most key facts come from statements by Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, OpenAI and Sam Altman, as reported by 6 news outlets. They differ on 1 point. |
10 key facts · 0 independently corroborated · 10 from statements or releases · 1 disputed
Where sources differ
When the OIPC launched its investigation into OpenAI’s role in the Tumbler Ridge shooting
The Canadian Press: The OIPC launched an investigation in June after OpenAI did not comply.
CBC News: The investigation OpenAI challenges was launched in June.
Business in Vancouver: The OIPC launched an investigation in June and later issued a September production order.
Teresa Scassa: The investigation was launched in September 2026.
Allegations described here are not proven in court unless stated.
How we put this together: we compare reporting from the outlets above, draft with the help of AI tools, and an editor checks every story before it's published. Our methodology.
