Brussels brings ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under the strictest EU safety regime

The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act, placing all three under the bloc's strictest online safety regime. The classification of an AI chatbot as a search engine is a first, reflecting the Commission's view that a service pulling live results from the internet functions, in regulatory terms, as a search engine.

Under the DSA, services reaching more than 45 million monthly users in the EU fall into this tier. OpenAI disclosed that ChatGPT's search function averaged about 159 million monthly active users in the bloc for the six months ending March 2026, while Reddit reported 57.2 million and Roblox roughly 48 million.

The three services have four months, until the end of November, to comply with obligations reserved for the largest platforms. These carry particular weight for children and families:

• annual systemic risk assessments covering illegal content, the protection of minors, and effects on users' mental and physical wellbeing
• independent audits
• the sharing of data with regulators and vetted researchers

The Commission will supervise compliance in cooperation with Ireland's Coimisiún na Meán for ChatGPT and Reddit, and the Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets for Roblox. Non-compliance can attract penalties of up to 6 percent of a company's global annual turnover. The designations bring the total number of platforms and search engines under the DSA's strictest tier to 28.

The original reporting is by Euronews: EU places ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under strictest digital safety rules.