ChatGPT and Roblox, the first ‘chatbot’ and video game under maximum surveillance in Brussels.
Brussels, Aug 31 (EFE)
The European Commission on Monday designated ChatGPT as a “very large search engine” and Reddit and Roblox as “very large platforms” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), as they exceeded the 45 million monthly users in the EU that the law sets as the threshold for Brussels’ strictest supervisory regime.
The DSA came into force in 2022 and is the EU’s main tool for regulating large internet platforms. Since 2023, it has been expanding its list of “very large” platforms and has opened more than a dozen formal investigations, with fines for non-compliance already exceeding €870 million: €550 million for AliExpress, €200 million for Temu, and €120 million for X, in addition to open proceedings against Meta, TikTok, and Shein.
First time for a chatbot and a video game
This is the first time the DSA has caught up with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot like ChatGPT and a video game platform like Roblox.
The move sets a precedent: if chatbots – like Gemini or Copilot – or video games with user-generated content – like Fortnite or Minecraft – cross the same user threshold, they could follow the same path.
In the US, both platforms face legal problems: Roblox, for issues related to child exploitation, and OpenAI’s chatbot, for instigating and contributing to the planning of shootings, creating addiction in minors and weakening the critical thinking of its users.
Mitigating “systemic risks”
As very large platforms and search engines, the three services assume the most demanding layer of the DSA: annually assessing and mitigating the systemic risks of their algorithms, undergoing independent audits, granting access to external researchers vetoed by the Commission, and activating crisis response mechanisms.
According to Article 34, these “systemic risks” cover areas such as the dissemination of illegal content, impact on fundamental rights, effects on civic discourse, electoral processes and public safety, as well as gender violence, public health, child protection and physical and mental well-being.
Added to this are the obligations that the DSA already requires of all types of online platforms – large or small -: internal complaint management and dispute resolution systems, priority to ‘trusted flaggers’ (trusted users who report illegal content), transparency about their advertising with a public repository of advertisers or transparency and control options over their recommendation systems.
This is in addition to the prohibition of directing advertising to minors or based on sensitive data and the prohibition of “dark patterns” that mislead in the design of the interface.
Figures and calendar
According to their own figures reported to the Commission, ChatGPT registered an average of 159.1 million monthly users in the EU; Reddit, 57.2 million, and Roblox, 48 million.
With these three additions, the list of services under the DSA’s strictest regime now totals 28, including social networks such as LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat; sellers such as Amazon, AliExpress and Shein; pornographic sites such as Pornhub and XNXX; and search engines such as Google.
Brussels will oversee ChatGPT and Reddit together with the Irish media regulator, and Roblox together with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the countries where both services have their European headquarters.
They have until the end of November – four months from the notification – to comply.
Recent chronology
The first fine under the DSA came in December 2025: €120 million to X for lack of transparency. Since then, the Commission has fined Temu €200 million in May and AliExpress €550 million in July.
In addition, it has several open investigations: against X, for its recommendation systems and for the integration of the Grok chatbot; for addictive design against TikTok, Shein and Meta (Instagram and Facebook); against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos for exposing minors to pornographic content, and against Meta for allowing access to Instagram and Facebook for children under 13.
Furthermore, the law has become one of the most contentious issues between Washington and Brussels. The Trump Administration maintains that the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) systematically discriminate against American technology companies and has repeatedly threatened tariffs and restrictions on European firms in retaliation.
Brussels has responded that its rules apply “regardless of jurisdiction or company owner,” and has pointed out that its latest sanctions have targeted AliExpress, Temu, and TikTok, not just US firms.
