ChatGPT Becomes First AI Chatbot Targeted by Stricter EU Rules
ChatGPT will now face tougher safety requirements after the EU added it Monday to a list of digital services subject to heightened legal scrutiny, marking the first time a chatbot has received this designation.
Brussels also classified Reddit and Roblox as “very large” online platforms, a label that brings additional obligations and oversight. “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,” said EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen.
The “very large” designation applies to platforms and search engines with more than 45 million monthly active users across the EU’s 27 member states a threshold that ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox all reported meeting, according to the commission.
All three companies now have four months to comply with additional obligations under the Digital Services Act, a content regulation that has become a central tool in the EU’s broader effort to rein in major technology companies in recent years. These obligations include assessing and mitigating risks tied to the spread of illegal content, negative effects on minors, impacts on users’ physical and mental wellbeing, threats to fundamental rights, and risks to electoral processes and public security, Brussels said. To bring ChatGPT under the Digital Services Act’s regulatory scope, the commission classified it as a search engine.
Lena-Maria Boswald of German tech think tank Interface said ahead of the announcement that the move would set a significant precedent, shaping regulatory expectations for large generative technology systems operating across the EU. She noted that while OpenAI already carries risk-management obligations under the EU’s AI Act, this designation could broaden the scope of oversight considerably.
The expanded scrutiny also extends to Roblox, a gaming platform where users build and share their own games, and Reddit, the widely used online discussion forum.
These designations arrive as the EU continues ramping up enforcement against major global digital platforms, including several American companies, despite pushback and threats of retaliation from the US. The bloc recently ordered TikTok, one of roughly 30 other platforms already on its list, to alter what regulators consider its addictive design or face substantial fines. Last year, the EU also fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X 120 million euros ($138 million) for breaching transparency requirements and other violations.
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