EU Targets ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox With Tougher Oversight and Heavy Fines for Rule Breaches

The European Commission has placed ChatGPT in a regulatory category normally associated with major internet search engines, saying its ability to retrieve information from the web makes it more than a conventional platform. The decision also brings Reddit and Roblox under the EU’s strictest digital-services oversight.

The Commission describes ChatGPT as a “hybrid service”. The chatbot responds directly to users, but it can also search the internet and display information gathered from different websites. That combination led the EU to classify it as a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act.

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hybrid service

Reddit and Roblox received a different designation because their users can publicly post, create and share content. All three services crossed the DSA threshold of more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union, or roughly 10% of the bloc’s population. OpenAI reported an average of about 159 million monthly active EU users for ChatGPT’s search function in the six months through March 2026. Reddit reported 57.2 million users, while Roblox reported about 48 million.

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These new classifications mean that ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox in the European Union will be subject to stricter oversight and greater accountability, in line with their major impact on our citizens and society.

Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission executive vice-president responsible for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, said the classifications would bring “stricter oversight and greater accountability” because of the services’ influence on EU citizens and society. She added that the Commission would continue monitoring the digital sector and would designate any platform that reaches the threshold for enhanced supervision.

The companies have four months from the Commission’s decision to begin meeting additional requirements. These include annual assessments of systemic risks linked to illegal content, child safety, possible effects on mental and physical health, fundamental rights, elections and public security.

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We will continue to closely monitor the digital space and will not hesitate to designate any platform that reaches the threshold for enhanced oversight under the Digital Services Act.