OpenAI Hit With 30 New Tumbler Ridge Suits, Bringing Shooting Cases to 37
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 2
OpenAI Hit With 30 New Tumbler Ridge Suits, Bringing Shooting Cases to 37
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 2
Summary
Thirty new federal lawsuits filed in California accuse OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence, aiding the Tumbler Ridge school shooting and product liability, expanding the case count to 37.
Court filings say OpenAI safety staff flagged 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar eight months before the February attack as a “credible and specific threat,” but the company only banned her account and did not alert authorities.
The shooting killed 8 people and wounded dozens—mostly children—after the gunman allegedly killed her mother and 11-year-old brother at home; the new plaintiffs include a principal, teachers, students and one injured girl's family.
OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon disputed claims that political or public-relations concerns drove the decision not to report the threat, while plaintiffs' lawyer Jay Edelson said executives repeatedly hid platform dangers.
The suits add to a widening wave of cases against OpenAI and other tech firms over chatbot-linked harm, including seven “suicide coach” cases and a Florida investigation tied to another mass shooting.