OpenAI has announced that it has banned several ChatGPT accounts suspected to be linked with China for attempting to use its artificial intelligence tools to develop systems for mass surveillance and online monitoring. The company stated in its latest report that the accounts were trying to create social media tracking and profiling tools designed to monitor specific groups of people. OpenAI confirmed that all accounts identified as engaging in these activities have been permanently removed. The report also noted that certain accounts originating from Russia were found attempting to create phishing tools using AI.
According to OpenAI’s Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: October 2025 report, the banned accounts were part of a coordinated cluster, potentially connected with the Chinese government. These users reportedly sought assistance from ChatGPT to gather information and build tools that could be used for autocratic surveillance and censorship. Describing the findings as “a rare snapshot into the broader world of authoritarian abuses of AI,” OpenAI revealed that these activities took place gradually over the course of 2025.
In one example, a user allegedly asked ChatGPT to create project plans and promotional content for a “social media listening tool” meant for a government client. The system, referred to as a “social media probe,” was described as being capable of scanning platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube for politically sensitive or extremist material. OpenAI clarified that there was no evidence suggesting that this system was ever developed or used.
Another banned account was found attempting to design a “High-Risk Uyghur-Related Inflow Warning Model” that would analyse travel bookings and cross-reference them with police databases to track individuals deemed “high-risk.” OpenAI stated that the model was never deployed and its existence could not be verified.
The report also highlighted other accounts that tried to use ChatGPT for profiling and research. One user asked for help identifying funding sources behind an X account critical of the Chinese government, while another sought details about organisers of a petition in Mongolia. In both cases, ChatGPT provided only publicly available data.
Additionally, some accounts were found using ChatGPT as a research tool to summarise global news, including sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square events and the Dalai Lama’s birthday.
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