The European Commission has included ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox among the services subject to the strictest rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA). ChatGPT was classified as a “Very Large Online Search Engine” (VLOSE) because it can conduct web searches, while Reddit and Roblox were classified as “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOP). Under the DSA, the threshold for being considered “very large” is 45 million monthly users in the European Union. ChatGPT’s search feature reached approximately 159 million monthly EU users during the six-month period ending in March 2026, while Reddit reached 57.2 million and Roblox approximately 48 million.
The companies have four months to comply with the additional obligations; the requirements must be completed by the beginning of 2027. The obligations include systemic risk assessments concerning illegal content, child protection, health, fundamental rights, elections and public safety; independent audits, data sharing and access for approved researchers. Algorithmic and advertising transparency will be increased, while targeted advertising based on sensitive characteristics and advertising aimed at children will be restricted. Authorities in Ireland and the Netherlands will be responsible for oversight. As the category expands to 28 services, violations may incur fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
Why it matters
This decision means that these services will be subject to more intensive oversight not only because of their number of users, but also because of their impact in areas such as illegal content, child protection, health, elections and public safety. For users, the most tangible changes may be greater transparency regarding algorithmic and advertising practices, as well as restrictions on targeting aimed at children and based on sensitive characteristics. Researchers and oversight bodies will have broader opportunities to access data in order to examine the systemic risks posed by the services. However, how these obligations will be implemented in practice, what findings independent audits will reveal and how sanctions will be enforced in the event of violations are among the unresolved aspects of the compliance process.
Background
ChatGPT is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 10 articles mentioning this name in the past 90 days; the latest is dated August 31, 2026.