Technology & Science
EU Adds ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox to DSA “Very Large” List
On 31 Aug 2026 the European Commission formally designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms after each surpassed 45 million monthly EU users, giving them four months—until Jan 2027—to meet the Digital Services Act’s strictest obligations.
Focusing Facts
- OpenAI told Brussels that ChatGPT’s search function averaged 159 million EU users in the six months ending March 2026—more than triple the DSA threshold.
- Failure to comply can trigger EU fines of up to 6 % of a service’s global annual revenue under Article 74 of the DSA.
- ChatGPT is the first general-purpose generative AI system ever placed in the DSA’s top compliance tier, previously reserved for social networks, marketplaces and browsers.
Context
Europe has repeatedly used moments of technological inflection to impose far-reaching rules on foreign firms—from the 1995 Data Protection Directive that foreshadowed GDPR (2018) to the record €899 million fine on Microsoft in 2008 for bundling practices. Placing a conversational AI and two user-generated ecosystems under the DSA extends a regulatory trajectory that began with the EU’s 1984 telecom liberalisation: every new information layer (telecom, search, social, now generative AI) is quickly pulled into a public-law frame concerned with market power and civic risk. This decision matters because, as with the 1910 Mann-Elkins Act that first subjected U.S. telephone companies to common-carrier duties, once an infrastructure is declared “systemic,” obligations tend to ratchet only upward and spread extraterritorially—firms often adopt EU-driven compliance globally to avoid fragmentation. Whether Brussels can enforce rules against agile AI models remains unproven, but in a century-long view the move signals that algorithmic intermediaries, not just human publishers, are being treated as custodians of public space—an enduring shift in how societies govern speech, commerce and power online.
Perspectives
European regulation-friendly outlets
EU Reporter, Helsinki Times — Portray the new DSA ‘very-large’ labels for ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as a proactive step that will better protect EU citizens from illegal content, threats to elections and harm to minors. Because their reporting echoes Commission talking-points and highlights the quote that the move is “in line with their large impact on our citizens and society”, they gloss over industry costs and any risk that strict rules could stifle innovation.
US tech-industry trade press
Thurrott.com, Technology Org — Frame the designations chiefly as a new layer of obligations and deadlines that OpenAI, Reddit and Roblox must rush to meet or face sizeable fines, stressing the four-month ‘compliance clock’. By foregrounding the compliance burden and potential 6 %-of-revenue penalties, these outlets implicitly side with the platforms’ concerns and underplay the consumer-protection rationale advanced by Brussels.
Business-oriented and international general news
PYMNTS.com, Daily Sabah — Emphasise that the EU has gained sweeping investigative powers over the three U.S. services, noting the precedent this sets for AI systems and the threat of hefty fines. The focus on ‘greater oversight’, ‘heavy penalties’ and ‘U.S. pushback’ can sensationalise the enforcement aspect, catering to investor or geopolitical anxieties rather than exploring how the rules may actually function.
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