Some Developers Have Received Warning Letters: OpenAI to Block API Traffic from Unsupported Regions Starting July 9

OpenAI's ChatGPT has stringent regional restrictions, preventing users in unsupported areas from accessing ChatGPT, even if they wish to pay for a ChatGPT subscription.

While OpenAI API services have relatively fewer restrictions and are sometimes accessible in regions not yet supported, some developers have integrated the OpenAI API to provide services to their users.

Starting yesterday, many developers received warning letters from OpenAI stating that account traffic from unsupported regions has been detected. Starting July 9, OpenAI will take additional measures to block this traffic.

In essence, developers might still be able to use OpenAI API services, but if OpenAI detects traffic from unsupported regions, the API will not function properly.

The warning letter does not specify whether accounts found in violation will be banned, such as by suspending API use; it appears the main objective is to block traffic from unsupported regions.

OpenAI's API usage terms do indeed stipulate that developers can only use these APIs within supported countries or regions and provide services accordingly, giving OpenAI a basis for taking action, as this constitutes a violation by the developers.

The worst-case scenario would be OpenAI directly revoking developers' API access or even suspending their entire developer accounts. Such a situation could severely impact some developers, who must switch APIs as soon as possible to avoid service disruption.

OpenAI has not yet issued a formal response to this matter, but developers naturally need to prepare in advance to prevent unexpected issues from affecting the continuity of their business.