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OpenAI plans to block people from using ChatGPT in China, a country where its services aren\u2019t officially available, but where users and developers access it via the company\u2019s API anyway. Securities Times<\/em>, a Chinese state-owned newspaper reported on Tuesday that OpenAI had started sending emails to users in China outlining its plans to block access starting July 9, according<\/a> to Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are taking additional taps to block API traffic from regions where we do not support access to OpenAI\u2019s services,\u201d an OpenAI spokesperson told the publication. The move could impact several Chinese startups which have built applications using OpenAI\u2019s large language models.<\/p>\n Although OpenAI\u2019s services are available in more than 160 countries, China isn\u2019t one of them. According to the company\u2019s guidelines, users trying to access the company\u2019s products in unsupported countries could be blocked or suspended \u2014 although the company hasn\u2019t explicitly done so until now.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear what prompted OpenAI\u2019s move. Last month, the company revealed<\/a> that it stopped covert influence operations \u2014 including one that originated from China \u2014 that used its AI models to spread disinformation across the interne. Bloomberg<\/em> pointed out<\/a> that OpenAI\u2019s move coincides with Washington’s pressure on American tech companies to limit China\u2019s access to cutting-edge technologies developed in the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n