The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) could soon apply its toughest rules to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the online gaming platform Roblox, according to officials and reports. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said that such a designation is “definitely possible” and could come “sooner or later.”
Under the DSA, online services with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU are classified as very large online platforms (VLOPs) or very large online search engines (VLOSEs). That threshold triggers strict obligations aimed at reducing risks to user safety, including around illegal content, advertising transparency, and health and safety.
Designated platforms must create user-friendly terms and conditions, establish a point of contact for authorities and users, and report criminal offenses. They also have to identify and assess systemic risks linked to their services. Non-compliance can bring penalties of up to 6 percent of global annual turnover.
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The path to designation
A report indicated that the two new additions to the designated list will be confirmed as soon as August. The same sources said ChatGPT’s search function will be given the VLOSE label and Roblox that of VLOP. The platforms will have four months from the date of designation to ensure compliance.
ChatGPT crossed 120 million monthly users in Europe last year, which easily exceeds the DSA threshold.
Penalties and enforcement so far
Twenty‑one companies operating various platforms in the bloc, including X, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and TikTok, are already subject to DSA regulations since enforcement began in early 2024. The European Commission has launched numerous probes, resulting in penalties on X, Temu, and AliExpress that collectively amount to nearly €900 million.
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Earlier this month, the EU preliminarily found TikTok to have breached the DSA by allowing content posted by minors to be pushed globally, exposing them to unwanted contact and cyberbullying. The Commission also used its powers to order Meta to open WhatsApp up to rival AI assistants to ensure fair competition.
The DSA and the bloc’s other landmark legislation, the Digital Markets Act, have elicited criticism from the US, which has called penalties under the laws a “novel form of economic extortion.”