ChatGPT Faces Greater Regulatory Oversight by EU

The European Union has announced that ChatGPT, along with Reddit and Roblox, will now face greater regulatory oversight as Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) under its Digital Services Act. This designation comes after the companies reached a threshold of 45 million average monthly users in the EU. Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy at the commission, stated that these companies will now be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, emphasized that they are preparing to meet the additional compliance requirements associated with this designation. The commission has until the end of January 2027 to ensure that these companies take measures to comply with the new regulations, addressing systemic risks related to illegal content, minors, well-being, fundamental rights, electoral processes, and public security.

This move marks Europe's rapid adoption of new search methods, with three search services, including ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing, and Google Search, now designated under the DSA at this scale.