ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox are facing additional regulatory obligations in the European Union after the European Commission classified the services among the largest online platforms and search engines operating in the bloc.
ChatGPT has been designated a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE), while Reddit and Roblox have been classified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). The designations bring all three services under the stricter requirements of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA applies additional obligations to online services that reach more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union. The threshold reflects the potential influence that very large digital services can have on users and the wider online environment.
Their new classifications mean the companies will have to comply with requirements that go beyond the general DSA obligations already applicable to online platforms and search engines.
Among those responsibilities is maintaining mechanisms through which users can report illegal or harmful material. Platforms must also provide greater transparency around content moderation and give users ways to challenge certain moderation decisions.
Advertising is another area covered by the legislation. Users must be able to clearly identify advertisements and paid promotional material, while interfaces designed to manipulate people into making particular choices, commonly described as dark patterns, are prohibited.
The largest services must also evaluate broader risks associated with their platforms. This includes examining whether their systems could contribute to the spread of disinformation or create risks affecting users’ physical or mental well-being. Companies are expected to introduce measures intended to reduce identified systemic risks.
Compliance will not depend entirely on companies assessing themselves. Services classified as VLOPs or VLOSEs must undergo independent audits every year to evaluate whether they are meeting their obligations under the DSA.
The three services were already covered by the Digital Services Act before receiving their new classifications. The change places them within the law’s enhanced supervisory framework because of the scale of their European user bases.
The European Commission has now designated 28 services as very large online platforms or search engines. The broader group includes major digital services operated by companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft.
The latest classifications therefore do not introduce an entirely new regulatory system for ChatGPT, Reddit or Roblox. Instead, they substantially increase the level of scrutiny and accountability the services face as some of the largest digital platforms available to users across the European Union.