ChatGPT Designated Under EU’s Digital Services Act
The European Commission has recently incorporated ChatGPT into its elite cadre of closely monitored online services, marking a significant milestone as OpenAI’s chatbot becomes the inaugural AI assistant subjected to the rigorous stipulations of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
In a concurrent announcement made on Monday, authorities in Brussels classified both Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms.
This development signifies that complications surrounding compliance, previously navigated by tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple in Europe, now extend to three additional American companies.
ChatGPT Recognized as a Search Engine
Notably, ChatGPT has been categorized as a Very Large Online Search Engine, rather than merely a platform, a classification that warrants further scrutiny.
The Commission deduced that a chatbot functioning by retrieving real-time results from the internet essentially fulfills the role of a search engine, irrespective of its interface design.
Each of these services faces a four-month timeline—until January 2027—to achieve compliance, with a maximum penalty of up to six percent of their global annual revenue for noncompliance.
The threshold for this stringent category is set at 45 million average monthly users within the EU, a figure that represents roughly ten percent of the bloc’s populace.
ChatGPT purportedly amassed around 159 million monthly users in the six-month period concluding in March 2026, while Reddit reported 57.2 million and Roblox reached 46.6 million, narrowly surpassing the requisite threshold. These figures are self-reported by the companies involved.
Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s technology chief, asserted that the three platforms will now be subject to a “higher standard of scrutiny and accountability,” reflecting their considerable influence on the citizenry.
With this latest development, the DSA’s most stringent tier now encompasses a total of 28 platforms and search engines.
Anticipation of DSA Compliance Obligations
The path forward for these services involves a series of less-than-glamorous responsibilities. Each entity is mandated to conduct annual systemic risk assessments covering illegal content, potential harm to minors, user welfare—both physical and mental—fundamental rights, election integrity, and public safety concerns.
Furthermore, they are required to open themselves up to independent audits and furnish data to regulators as well as vetted research entities.
ChatGPT and Reddit will be overseen by Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán, while the Dutch consumer authority will supervise Roblox.
OpenAI has expressed its acknowledgment that the search functionality of ChatGPT operates as a search service under the DSA and is actively preparing to meet the ensuing requirements.
Roblox has taken pride in being the first gaming platform to breach this threshold in the EU; however, Reddit has yet to issue a comment on the matter.
To date, Brussels has accrued approximately 870 million euros in fines related to the DSA, which includes 550 million euros imposed on AliExpress in July and 120 million euros levied against X in December.
The U.S. government has characterized such penalties as economic extortion and has hinted at possible retaliatory measures.
This discourse is poised to intensify, especially since the DSA has now encroached upon generative AI, thereby expanding the roster of U.S. companies facing European regulatory challenges by three names.
Source link: Timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
