OpenAI has banned several ChatGPT accounts suspected of links to Chinese government entities after users sought proposals for social media surveillance tools, violating the company’s national security policy.
The move underscores growing concerns about the misuse of generative AI amid increasing U.S.-China technological rivalry.
In its latest public threat report, OpenAI revealed that some individuals had used ChatGPT to outline social media “listening” tools and other monitoring mechanisms.
Additionally, Chinese-language accounts were found to be assisting in phishing and malware campaigns and exploring further automation through China’s DeepSeek platform.
The company emphasized that its models did not provide new offensive capabilities to threat actors. The Chinese embassy in the U.S. has not commented on the situation.
OpenAI’s actions are part of a broader effort to prevent the misuse of its AI models by foreign adversaries.
The company has also banned accounts tied to suspected Russian-speaking criminal groups using ChatGPT to develop malware. Since initiating public threat reporting in February 2024, OpenAI has disrupted over 40 malicious networks.
The company emphasized that its models did not provide new offensive capabilities to threat actors.
The Chinese embassy in the U.S. has not commented on the situation. OpenAI, which now boasts over 800 million weekly ChatGPT users, recently reached a $500 billion valuation after a secondary share sale.
This development highlights the challenges tech companies face in balancing the advancement of AI technologies with national security concerns and the potential for misuse by state-linked actors.