The European Commission has classified ChatGPT as a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act, subjecting OpenAI to the EU’s strictest platform rules. The designation applies after ChatGPT surpassed 45 million average monthly users in the European Union.
Reddit and Roblox received similar designations as very large online platforms. The three companies have four months, until the end of December 2026, to comply with the additional requirements.
ChatGPT falls under the search-engine category because it can retrieve information from the web and respond to users’ queries. The classification gives the Commission wider powers to examine how the service identifies and reduces systemic risks.
New obligations for ChatGPT
OpenAI must assess risks involving illegal content, harms to minors, and possible interference with elections. It must also publish regular transparency reports, provide a process for users to report illegal material and challenge decisions, and maintain a public archive of advertising shown through the service.
The DSA also requires access to certain data for approved researchers. Legal experts disagree over how far that requirement may extend for an AI system. Natali Helberger, a professor at the University of Amsterdam, tells Tech Policy Press that Article 40 could raise questions about access to training data or model weights when such material is necessary to evaluate systemic risks or safeguards.
The designation itself does not explicitly give EU regulators the right to test ChatGPT’s underlying models directly. Companies that violate the DSA can face fines of up to 6 percent of their annual global revenue, according to Bloomberg.
The additions bring the total number of services designated under the DSA to 28. The Commission will oversee the new cases alongside national authorities in Ireland and the Netherlands.
Sources
- ChatGPT now faces stricter EU oversight as a very large search engine – The Decoder
- The EU designates ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox as very large online platforms after each hit 45M monthly users in the bloc, opening them up to more DSA scrutiny – Bloomberg
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