TLDR
- The European Commission designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act.
- All three services reported at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU, the threshold for this level of oversight.
- Companies have four months from notification, until January 2027, to assess and reduce risks tied to their platforms.
- Breaking the rules can lead to fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover.
- The EU is also reviewing its separate crypto rulebook, known as MiCA, in a process unrelated to this announcement.
The European Commission announced on August 31 that it has placed ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under stricter supervision through the Digital Services Act. This law applies extra rules to online services once they reach a certain size in the EU.
ChatGPT was labeled a Very Large Online Search Engine. Reddit and Roblox were labeled Very Large Online Platforms. These labels are based on user numbers, not on any wrongdoing by the companies.
Why These Three Services Were Chosen
Each company reported at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU. That figure is the cutoff point set by the Digital Services Act for this type of oversight.
ChatGPT recorded 159.1 million average monthly users in the EU. That number is smaller than Google Search, which reported 364 million users, but larger than Microsoft Bing, which reported 119 million.
Reddit reported 57.2 million average monthly EU users. Roblox reported 46.6 million, just above the required threshold.
ChatGPT was placed in the search engine category because it can pull information from the web to answer questions. Reddit and Roblox were placed in the platform category because they center on content that users create and share.
Henna Virkkunen, a Commission executive vice-president, said the designations reflect the size and reach of these services among EU citizens. She added that the Commission will keep watching other platforms and will designate any service that meets the threshold.
What the Companies Must Do Next
The three companies now have four months from the date they were formally notified. The Commission says that deadline falls in January 2027.
During that time, each company must study the risks linked to its service. This includes risks tied to illegal content, harm to minors, election-related content, public health, and public security.
After identifying these risks, each company must put measures in place to reduce them. National regulators will help oversee this process alongside the Commission.
Ireland’s media regulator will work with the Commission on ChatGPT and Reddit. The Dutch consumer and markets authority will do the same for Roblox.
Companies that fail to comply can face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover. Daily penalties can also apply for continued delays.
The Commission has issued fines under this law before. X was fined 120 million euros in December 2025 over transparency issues. AliExpress was fined 550 million euros in July 2026 for problems tied to unsafe or fake products sold on its platform.
Before any fine is issued, regulators can request internal data, question staff, and inspect company offices. In serious cases, access to a service could be restricted within the EU.
The Commission has not accused ChatGPT, Reddit or Roblox of breaking any rules. The designations are based only on user numbers.
Separately, the EU opened a review of its crypto rulebook, MiCA, in May. That review is looking at stablecoins and other crypto topics, but it is not connected to this week’s announcement.
With this update, 28 platforms and search engines now fall under the EU’s toughest tier of online supervision, up from 19 when the rules began in 2023.
