The European Commission has brought ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under the European Union’s enhanced Digital Services Act (DSA) supervision regime. The three services must evaluate systemic risks and introduce measures to address them, with serious violations potentially resulting in penalties of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover.
- ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox have been designated as major services under the DSA.
- ChatGPT is classified as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE).
- Reddit and Roblox are classified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs).
- ChatGPT reported 159.1 million average monthly EU recipients.
- Providers have roughly four months after notification to complete additional risk assessments and mitigation measures.
- DSA penalties can reach 6% of global annual turnover.
Why the EU Is Increasing Oversight
The European Commission announced the new designations on Aug. 31, bringing ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox into the DSA’s highest level of regulatory scrutiny.
The designation is based primarily on the scale of these services in the European Union. Platforms and search services reaching at least 45 million average monthly EU users can qualify for the enhanced supervision framework.
The classifications differ according to how the services operate.
ChatGPT has been designated as a VLOSE because of its ability to retrieve information from the web and incorporate that information into responses. Reddit and Roblox, meanwhile, fall under the VLOP category because their services are built substantially around user-generated content and online communities.
The European Commission emphasized that being designated does not mean a company has been found to have violated the DSA. Instead, the designation subjects the services to additional obligations and closer regulatory oversight.
ChatGPT Becomes a Major EU-Supervised Search Service
The classification of ChatGPT as a very large online search engine reflects the increasingly broad capabilities of AI assistants.
When ChatGPT uses web-based information to answer user questions, it operates beyond the traditional model of a conversational AI system. The European Commission considers this search functionality relevant to the VLOSE framework.
Commission data cited in the source material put ChatGPT’s average monthly EU recipients at approximately 159.1 million.
That places it below Google Search, which was reported at approximately 364 million monthly users, but above Microsoft’s Bing at around 119 million.
The numbers are based on company-reported figures used for DSA purposes.
Reddit and Roblox Also Cross the Threshold
Reddit reported approximately 57.2 million average monthly EU users, while Roblox reported around **46.6 million.
Roblox therefore sits only about 1.6 million users above the 45-million threshold for enhanced supervision.
Reddit’s platform is structured around thousands of topic-specific communities where users publish and discuss content.
Roblox operates differently, providing an ecosystem where users can create and interact with games and digital experiences.
Despite those differences, both services fall within the VLOP category because of their scale and the potential systemic effects associated with large user-generated platforms.
The EU’s list of major platforms is not necessarily permanent. The Commission has previously removed services from the designation framework when they no longer meet the relevant requirements.
New Risk Assessments Due by January 2027
The new designations create additional responsibilities for all three companies.
According to the Commission’s framework, ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox have approximately four months from notification of their designations to comply with the additional requirements. The deadline is expected to fall in January 2027.
Among the key obligations is an assessment of systemic risks associated with their services and algorithmic systems.
The areas under consideration include:
- Illegal content
- Protection of minors
- Election and democratic processes
- Public security
- Mental and physical health
- Fundamental rights
- Algorithmic and information-related risks
Companies must then introduce measures designed to reduce the identified risks.
The requirements are particularly significant for AI systems because their potential impact extends beyond conventional content hosting and into areas such as information discovery, automated recommendations, and content generation.
National Regulators Will Also Participate
The European Commission will retain direct responsibility for enforcing the additional obligations applicable to VLOPs and VLOSEs.
National regulators will also play a role.
Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán is involved in oversight concerning ChatGPT and Reddit, while the Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets is paired with Roblox.
The arrangement allows national Digital Services Coordinators to participate in the broader DSA enforcement structure while the Commission maintains responsibility for the enhanced obligations imposed on the largest platforms.
Major DSA Fines Are Already Being Issued
The EU has already demonstrated that DSA enforcement can result in substantial financial penalties.
In December 2025, the European Commission imposed a €120 million fine on X over transparency-related issues involving its verification system, advertising repository, and researcher access to public data.
An even larger penalty followed in July 2026, when AliExpress received a €550 million fine over failures relating to risks associated with illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit products.
These cases illustrate the potential financial consequences for companies that fail to meet their obligations.
Under the DSA, penalties can reach 6% of a provider’s worldwide annual turnover. Regulators can also impose periodic fines of up to 5% of average daily global turnover for continued non-compliance.
The Commission can request access to relevant data and algorithms, conduct interviews, and carry out inspections as part of investigations.
In exceptional circumstances, the legislation also provides mechanisms for temporarily restricting access to a service where persistent violations result in serious harm and stringent legal requirements are satisfied.
DSA Oversight Expands Across Europe
The addition of ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox increases the number of platforms and search engines subject to the EU’s enhanced supervision framework.
The Commission’s supervised list now contains 28 services, compared with 19 when the regime initially launched in April 2023.
The expansion reflects the EU’s broader effort to apply stricter oversight to the digital services with the largest audiences and potentially significant societal impact.
Importantly, the Aug. 31 announcement does not accuse ChatGPT, Reddit or Roblox of violating the DSA. Their designation instead means they must meet a higher set of regulatory requirements because of their scale and the potential risks associated with their services.
DSA and MiCA Are Separate Regulatory Tracks
The EU’s digital regulatory agenda extends beyond online platforms.
The European Commission is also reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), examining whether the framework remains appropriate for developments involving stablecoins, decentralized finance and staking.
Officials are separately considering potential changes affecting crypto assets issued outside the EU.
However, these initiatives operate independently from the DSA. Any amendments to MiCA would require their own regulatory and legislative process.
A New Era of Scrutiny for Big Digital Platforms
The designation of ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox signals that the EU’s digital regulatory framework is continuing to expand alongside the rapid growth of AI, online communities, and user-generated platforms.
For the companies involved, the immediate priority is completing their systemic-risk assessments and demonstrating that appropriate safeguards are in place.
The broader message from Brussels is clear: as digital services reach tens or hundreds of millions of European users, scale increasingly brings greater regulatory responsibility.
