The Register: OpenAI bans suspected Chinese accounts using ChatGPT to plan surveillance

Oct 7, 2025

—

Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/07/openai_bans_suspected_china_accounts/
Source: The Register
Title: OpenAI bans suspected Chinese accounts using ChatGPT to plan surveillance

Feedly Summary: It also banned some suspected Russian accounts trying to create influence campaigns and malware
OpenAI has banned ChatGPT accounts believed to be linked to Chinese government entities attempting to use AI models to surveil individuals and social media accounts.…

AI Summary and Description: Yes

Summary: The text highlights actions taken by OpenAI against accounts suspected to be affiliated with state-sponsored influence campaigns and surveillance operations linked to Russia and China. This relevance is significant for professionals in security and compliance, as it underlines ongoing threats in the security landscape of AI and the proactive measures being adopted to mitigate them.

Detailed Description: The provided text discusses the increasing concerns regarding national security and the misuse of AI technologies globally. OpenAI’s approach reflects the current trend of organizations taking a stance against potential risks related to the use of AI for malicious purposes.

– **Banning of Accounts**: OpenAI has taken steps to ban certain accounts, suggesting that there is active monitoring of user behavior linked to state-sponsored activities.
– **Identification of Threats**: Accounts suspected of being associated with the Russian and Chinese governments were identified, indicating a level of sophistication in the detection of potential threats to national and global security.
– **Influence Campaigns and Malware**: The mention of influence campaigns and malware points to the use of AI technologies in nefarious ways, raising critical security concerns in how AI can be exploited.
– **Surveillance Efforts**: The attempts by affiliated entities to surveil individuals and social media accounts highlight challenges in privacy rights and the ethical use of AI technologies in governance.

This response is particularly pertinent for professionals focusing on:

– **AI Security**: Ensuring that AI technologies are not exploited for malicious purposes.
– **Information Security**: Reacting to the insights regarding the security risks posed by foreign entities that may use AI for surveillance or manipulation.
– **Compliance and Governance**: Understanding the implications of such actions in terms of regulatory frameworks aimed at safeguarding information integrity.

This situation emphasizes the necessity for organizations to enforce robust security measures, including user verification, anomaly detection, and regular audits, to preemptively address potential security threats linked to AI usage.

1 10 2 2025 5 7 a account Act actions affiliated age AI ai model AI models AI security AI technologies All and anomaly detection app art as at ated audit Audits Behavior being by C campaigns CERN challenge challenges chat ChatGPT China Chinese Chinese government CI CIA co compliance compliance and governance concerns critical Current D de detection dual e end ethical ethical use ethical use of AI exp exploit for foreign entities framework frameworks g GIS glob Global global security Go governance government government entities governments GPT H high Highlight HR http HTTPS implications in Influence influence campaigns information information integrity information security insights integrity io ite k l Lance land led level Li line Link linked M malware man manipulation measures media misuse Mode model models Monitor monitoring N nation national security NGO no o of on ons open openai operation operations opt organization organizations ory oS over per phi point potential potential risks pre preemptive privacy privacy rights pro proactive proactive measures professionals ps R raising RCE re react red regulatory regulatory framework regulatory frameworks relevance response right Risk risks Ro robust security robust security measures Russia Russian s safe sec security security and compliance security concerns security landscape security measure security measures security risk security risks security threat security threats Sig size sizes SoC social social media sophistication source sponsored sponsored activities SSE SSO state state-sponsored surveillance SUSE T taking tech technologies ted text the threat threats to Tor TP UN under US usage use user user behavior user verification V verification Ware Wi x z