EU places ChatGPT and Roblox under closer legal scrutiny over risks to citizens

ChatGPT has entered a new phase of regulatory scrutiny in the European Union, which has classified the artificial-intelligence service as a search engine for purposes of the bloc’s Digital Services Act.

The EU also designated ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as “very large” online platforms or services. The label applies to platforms and search engines with more than 45 million monthly active users in the 27-country bloc, a threshold the Commission said all three have exceeded.

The companies now have four months to meet additional obligations. Brussels says they must assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to illegal content, harm to children, users’ physical and mental wellbeing, fundamental rights, electoral processes and public safety.

Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the three services would face a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability because of their impact on citizens and society. The designation extends closer oversight to Roblox, where users create and share games, and Reddit, a large online forum.

The action comes as the EU intensifies enforcement against the world’s biggest digital platforms, many of them American companies. The bloc recently ordered TikTok to change what it considered addictive design or face potentially heavy fines.

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ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox must now meet a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability in the European Union, in line with their major impact on our citizens and society.