EU subjects ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox to stricter oversight under Digital Services Act

The European Commission on Monday designated ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as very large digital services under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), subjecting them to additional obligations and oversight.

ChatGPT was designated as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE), while Reddit and Roblox were designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), the Commission said.

The three services reported at least 45 million average monthly users each in the EU, meeting the threshold for the designations.

The services will have four months, until the end of December 2026, to comply with the additional DSA obligations.

These include assessing and mitigating systemic risks linked to the dissemination of illegal content, effects on minors, users’ physical and mental well-being, fundamental rights, electoral processes and public security.

The Commission said the designations give it investigative powers to assess the services’ functionalities and, where applicable, related systems.

The Commission will supervise compliance with the DSA in cooperation with Ireland’s Coimisiun na Mean in the case of ChatGPT and Reddit, and the Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets in the case of Roblox.

“These new designations mean that ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability in the European Union, in line with their large impact on our citizens and society,” Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said.

“We continue to watch the digital landscape closely and will not hesitate to designate any platform that meets the threshold for enhanced supervision under the Digital Services Act,” she added.

The Commission said ChatGPT qualifies as an online search engine under the DSA because it can respond to users’ prompts and queries, including by searching the web.

Reddit is a discussion-based platform where users create, share and interact with content in topic-based communities, while Roblox allows users to create, publish and play games developed by other users.

The Commission said Reddit and Roblox qualify as online platforms because they enable users to disseminate third-party content to the public.

The three services are already subject to the DSA’s general obligations for online platforms and search engines.

With the latest designations, the Commission has designated 28 very large online platforms and search engines under the DSA.

DSA supervision and enforcement are shared between the European Commission and national Digital Services Coordinators responsible for enforcement in EU member states.