ChatGPT has officially entered the attention of the European Commission. The European Union has designated OpenAI’s service as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) This European regulation imposes additional obligations on large digital platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The same name applies to Reddit and Roblox, but they are classified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). The three services reportedly have an average monthly user count of at least 45 million in the EU, which is the threshold set by the DSA for the very large service category.
ChatGPT is officially considered a search engine
The classification of ChatGPT is particularly interesting because the committee considers it Online search engine for DSA purposes. The motivation has to do with the hybrid nature of the service: in addition to responding to user requests, ChatGPT can actually search the web and provide information from across the internet.
This designation brings new obligations to OpenAI. Therefore, within four months of receiving the notification, that is, until January 2027, ChatGPT will have to comply with the additional requirements set by the DSA for VLOPs and VLOSEs. These include obligations Assess and mitigate systemic risks associated with the service and its algorithmic systems. The committee specifically mentioned the dissemination of illegal content, the impact on minors, the physical and mental health of users, fundamental rights, electoral processes and public safety.
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This designation does more than just impose new obligations on paper. The European Commission has also been given investigative powers The functionality behind analytics services and associated systems where necessary. For ChatGPT and Reddit, the Commission will work with the Irish Digital Services Coordinator Coimisiún na Mean on regulation, while for Roblox it will work with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The three services are actually set up in Ireland and the Netherlands respectively.
ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox are already subject to the general DSA obligations applicable to online platforms and search engines. However, the new classification introduces an additional level of requirements expected for very large services. With a new name, European Commission increases number of platforms and search engines to 28 Classified as very large according to DSA.
“These new names mean ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be affected by Higher level of control Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said:
The European Commission added that it will continue to monitor Europe’s digital landscape and may designate additional services if thresholds set out in the legislation are met.
