ChatGPT and Roblox Set for EU 'Very Large Online Platform' Designation
This designation would place ChatGPT and Roblox under the same regulatory framework as major social media platforms, forcing them to open their content moderation and risk assessment practices to EU oversight.
Key Facts
- The European Commission is preparing to designate ChatGPT and Roblox as 'Very Large Online Platforms' under the Digital Services Act, according to Bloomberg's anonymous sources.
- The designation follows both services surpassing 45 million monthly users in the EU, the threshold for the 'Very Large Online Platform' status.
- If designated, the companies must submit transparency reports, implement risk mitigation measures for harmful content, and pay annual fees to the European Commission.
- The designation could occur as early as August 2026, per Bloomberg's sources.
- Violations of the Digital Services Act can result in fines of up to 6% of a company's global annual turnover.
Reporting from 2 sources: ASCII.jp, GIGAZINE.
The European Commission is preparing to designate ChatGPT and Roblox as 'Very Large Online Platforms' under the EU's Digital Services Act, according to Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources. The move follows both services surpassing 45 million monthly users within the EU, the threshold for the designation. If designated, the operating companies will face new obligations, including submitting transparency reports, implementing risk mitigation measures for harmful content, and paying annual fees to the Commission. The designation could come as early as August 2026. The DSA allows for fines of up to 6% of a company's global annual turnover for violations. This potential designation comes after the Commission fined AliExpress 550 million euros in July 2026, the largest penalty under the DSA to date, for insufficient action against illegal and dangerous products. As of 2023, 19 platforms and search engines, including Amazon, YouTube, and Google, have already been designated.
- Roblox is a user-generated game platform popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, while ChatGPT is OpenAI's conversational AI assistant.
- The DSA designation process involves the Commission assessing whether a platform's user count meets the 45 million monthly active user threshold, which is roughly 10% of the EU's population.
- Designated platforms must also conduct annual risk assessments and adopt measures to address systemic risks like disinformation, illegal content, and manipulation of services.
- The Commission can conduct its own investigations and impose interim measures before a final designation decision.
- Beyond fines, the DSA gives the Commission power to accept binding commitments from platforms to remedy identified issues.
- Bloomberg's anonymous sources said the designation could be announced as early as August 2026, though the timeline has not been officially confirmed by the Commission.
- The 550 million euro fine on AliExpress in July 2026 was the largest DSA penalty so far, and it followed the platform's failure to adequately address illegal and dangerous product listings.
- Among the 19 already-designated services, the list includes Amazon, YouTube, X (Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, Google Search, and Bing, covering both platforms and search engines.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.