ChatGPT will block teenagers from accessing weapons information; adults misjudged as teenagers must submit government ID

OpenAI confirmed in a safety bulletin on October 30 that ChatGPT will, within the coming weeks, block weapons and security systems guidance for users judged to be under 18, even when the question appears harmless, and will monitor all users for signs of violent fixation, automatically terminate related conversations, temporarily suspend accounts that trigger this repeatedly, and notify parents for teen accounts. The change was announced against the backdrop of more than 30 civil lawsuits arising from the February 2026 Tumbler Ridge shooting, a criminal investigation and prosecution by the Florida Attorney General, and Common Sense Media giving ChatGPT for Teens its lowest rating of Unacceptable Risk. OpenAI automatically places suspected minors into teen mode based on behavioral and account signals; adults misjudged must submit government ID and a selfie through Persona to restore adult permissions, and privacy advocates point out that US law has no such requirement, while Persona also had a front-end security exposure incident in February 2026.