ChatGPT and Roblox Set to Face EU's Strictest Platform Rules Under Digital Services Act

Roblox and ChatGPT face strict new EU rules that could force both platforms to clean up their act

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Bottom line: Roblox and ChatGPT have both attracted massive user bases despite regularly generating the sort of headlines their owners would rather forget. Now, the European Union is reportedly preparing to place both services under its strictest online platform rules, forcing them to become safer, more transparent, and more accountable. Whether they adhere to these rules is another matter. Bloomberg reports that the European Commission is preparing to add Roblox and ChatGPT to the Digital Services Act's strictest regulatory category in August. The services would be classed as either Very Large Online Platforms or Very Large Online Search Engines, joining the likes of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, X, and Amazon. The designation applies to services with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU. Both companies have published figures exceeding that threshold, and Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters that their inclusion was "definitely possible" and could "come sooner or later." That wording could suggest the decision isn't as final as Bloomberg implies. Once formally designated, the companies would have four months to comply with additional DSA obligations. These include clearer terms and conditions, greater transparency around advertising, recommendation systems, and moderation decisions, and a requirement to report suspected criminal offences. The platforms must also identify systemic risks involving illegal content, children's rights, public security, elections, discrimination, gender-based violence, and users' mental and physical wellbeing. They then have to take steps to reduce those risks, potentially by redesigning services or changing recommendation systems. Other requirements include yearly independent audits, internal compliance teams, sharing data with regulators, and allowing vetted researchers to examine platform data. Users must also be offered a recommendation system that is not based on profiling. Companies that fail to comply can face fines of up to 6% of their worldwide annual revenue. Roblox's inclusion would hardly be surprising. The platform has faced lawsuits from Texas and Louisiana alleging that weak safeguards allowed predators to target children. The company responded with selfie-based age checks, age-separated chat, and an open-source AI system designed to detect signs of child exploitation. ChatGPT, of course, is dealing with its own growing list of safety controversies. OpenAI faces lawsuits alleging that the chatbot contributed to suicides and other real-world harm, while Florida recently sued the company and Sam Altman over claims that ChatGPT can encourage dangerous behaviour. The DSA designation isn't guaranteed to bring sweeping changes to either service - just look at X. Elon Musk's company was already fined €120 million ($137 million) for violations involving deceptive verification, ad transparency, and researcher access, yet few would argue that the platform has transformed into a prime example of online safety. That said, forcing Roblox and OpenAI to explain their systems, expose data to researchers, and address known risks seems preferable to just taking their word that everything is fine.

EU Will Reportedly Label ChatGPT and Roblox 'Very Large Online Platforms' (Derogatory)

The DSA has struck again and corporations are trembling. No, not the Mamdani DSA, the other DSA, the EU's Digital Services Act, Europe's legal framework for regulating the tech industry, which is also arguably the entire world's de facto legal framework for regulating the tech industry. The targets today: Roblox, the gaming sandbox and online space where kids can interact, and where, perhaps too often, adults can interact with kids, along with ChatGPT, the AI chatbot your landlord now uses to write you 1,000-word emails that paraphrase Immanuel Kant when they could just say "Don't leave extension cords on the driveway. -Jeff." The EU's executive arm is preparing to designate ChatGPT and Roblox as "very large online platforms," according to an anonymously sourced Bloomberg report. If you're a tech platform, this label may sound like a cool trophy, but it's actually an anchor around your neck because it exposes you to the top level of EU regulations and scrutiny. The threshold to be considered for the designation is 45 million EU-based monthly users, and other members of the very large online platform club include the Amazon Store, TikTok, Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and of course Zalando (It's European). Bloomberg reached out to the European Commission, OpenAI and Roblox. The commission declined, and OpenAI and Roblox didn't answer the requests. The DSA is perhaps most famous in the U.S. for coming into effect in 2022 and almost immediately clashing with Elon Musk amid his Twitter (later X) takeover around the same time. DSA regulators were informally inaugurated as the world's platform cops in 2023 when the EU went after X for failing to moderate types of content the DSA doesn't tolerate, and for having design elements thought to be deceptive. X was eventually hit with a $140 million fine, but appeals are ongoing.

ChatGPT, Roblox set for the EU's strictest platform rules

The European Commission plans to designate ChatGPT's search function a "very large online search engine" and Roblox a "very large online platform" under the Digital Services Act, as soon as August. It would make ChatGPT the first AI chatbot pulled into the bloc's strictest tier, with audits, risk assessments and fines of up to 6 per cent of global turnover for non-compliance. ChatGPT is about to become the first AI chatbot to face Europe's toughest platform rules. The European Commission plans to place OpenAI's chatbot and the gaming platform Roblox under the strictest tier of the Digital Services Act. The designation could come as soon as August. The move was first reported by Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the plan. ChatGPT's search function would be designated a "very large online search engine." Roblox would become a "very large online platform." Both crossed the DSA's trigger of 45 million monthly users in the bloc. The Commission was more guarded in public. Its spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, told Reuters a designation was "definitely possible" and could "come sooner or later." OpenAI said it continues to engage positively with Brussels. Roblox did not comment. What the label actually demands The tag is not a trophy. It adds ChatGPT and Roblox to a list of around two dozen platforms carrying the DSA's heaviest obligations. That group already runs from Meta and X to Amazon and TikTok. They get four months from designation to comply. That means annual risk assessments and independent audits, transparency reports, ad-transparency rules, and a recommendation feed not based on profiling. They must share data with regulators and vetted researchers, and report criminal offences. There is also a supervisory fee. Breaching the rules risks fines of up to 6 per cent of global annual turnover. The point is systemic risk. Designated services must identify and mitigate harms tied to illegal content, elections, discrimination, gender-based violence, and users' mental and physical health. For a chatbot and a children's game, those are not abstract categories. Why these two Roblox is an obvious target. It faces lawsuits and criticism over child-safety failures, and has been rolling out age checks and age-separated chat in response. The DSA's core aim is protecting children online, and Roblox is where millions of them gather. ChatGPT is the more novel case. OpenAI is fighting wrongful-death suits from families who say the chatbot failed users in crisis, and Florida has sued the company and Sam Altman. Pulling a generative-AI product into the top tier signals that Brussels sees chatbots as platforms to be policed, not tools to wave through. A familiar fight This is now a well-worn pattern. The Commission has opened more than a dozen probes since the DSA took effect. It fined AliExpress €550m, penalised Temu, and hit X with a €120m charge it is appealing. It has escalated an addictive-design probe into Meta and charged TikTok over child safety. It is also part of a wider European push, from France's under-15 social-media ban to a growing AI rulebook. The Trump administration calls the DSA a form of "economic extortion" against American firms. Critics ask, more pointedly, why Europe regulates the platforms it cannot seem to build. The counter is straightforward. As X shows, a designation is a demand, not a cure, and the platform is no one's model of online safety despite its fine. But forcing two of the internet's most scrutinised services to open their systems to auditors still beats taking their word that all is well.

ChatGPT and Roblox reportedly set to face strictest EU DSA rules

Bloomberg reported that the two new additions will be announced as soon as in August. OpenAI's ChatGPT and the controversial video game Roblox are reportedly set to become subject to the most stringent rules under the European Union's landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). The bloc brands online services with more than 45m EU-based users as very large online platforms (VLOP) or very large online search engines (VLOSE). This designation triggers specific rules that aim to tackle the unique risks that large platforms might pose to the safety of its European users, including around illegal content, ad transparency, health and safety. Rules include creating user-friendly terms and conditions, establishing a point of contact for authorities and users, and report criminal offences. VLOPs and VLOSEs must also identify and assess systemic risks that could be linked to their services. Designated platforms that don't comply with these rules face penalties of up to 6pc of their global annual turnover. 21 platforms in the bloc, including X, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, LinkedIn and TikTok, are already subject to these regulations since the DSA's enforcement in early 2024. Since then, the Commission has launched numerous probes, resulting in penalties on X, Temu, and AliExpress collectively amounting to nearly €900m. Bloomberg reported that the two new additions will be announced as soon as in August. The platforms will have four months from the designation to comply with the law. ChatGPT crossed 120m monthly users in Europe last year. Earlier this month, the EU preliminarily found TikTok to have breached the DSA by allowing content posted by minors to be pushed globally, risking unwanted contact and cyberbullying. The Commission also used its powers to order Meta to open WhatsApp up to rival AI assistants to ensure fair competition. The DSA, alongside the bloc's other landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) have elicited criticism from US, which has called penalties under the law a "novel form of economic extortion". Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

The EU is preparing to hit ChatGPT and Roblox with its strictest content moderation rules

The European Commission is considering placing ChatGPT and Roblox under the Digital Services Act's strictest regulatory tier, according to a Bloomberg report, with the designation potentially arriving as early as August. ChatGPT's search function would be classed as a Very Large Online Search Engine. At the same time, Roblox would become a Very Large Online Platform, joining a list that already includes Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, X, WhatsApp, and Amazon. The DSA applies its heaviest obligations to services with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters the designation was "definitely possible" and could "come sooner or later." OpenAI said it continues to engage positively with Brussels, while Roblox did not comment. Once formally designated, both companies have four months to comply with a significant set of requirements. These include transparent terms and conditions, clear disclosures around advertising and recommendation systems, content moderation transparency, and a requirement to report suspected criminal offenses. Platforms must also identify and mitigate systemic risks involving illegal content, child safety, elections, discrimination, gender-based violence, and users' mental and physical wellbeing. Other requirements include annual independent audits, internal compliance teams, data sharing with regulators, access for vetted researchers, and the ability for users to opt out of personalized recommendations. Fines for non-compliance can reach up to 6% of a company's global annual revenue. Roblox has already faced lawsuits from Texas, Louisiana, and Los Angeles County over alleged child safety failures, with critics arguing that its safeguards have not kept pace with the platform's growth. The company has responded with selfie-based age verification, age-separated chat, and an AI system designed to detect signs of child exploitation, but the legal pressure has continued. For ChatGPT, the designation would make OpenAI's chatbot the first generative AI product brought into the DSA's top tier. OpenAI is already facing wrongful death lawsuits from individuals who allege the chatbot lacked adequate safeguards for users in crisis.