The European Union has moved ChatGPT into a tougher regulatory category under the Digital Services Act, according to The Verge, which reports that the service is now considered a Very Large Online Search Engine in the bloc. The designation means OpenAI will soon be held accountable for mitigating risks linked to ChatGPT’s impact on minors, user mental health, and the spread of illegal content in the European Union, The Verge reports. The Digital Services Act is the EU’s framework for regulating major online services and platforms. The move was not limited to OpenAI. The Verge reports that the European Commission also announced Reddit and Roblox are now considered Very Large Online Platforms, putting them under the same broader DSA regime for the largest services operating in Europe. Under the DSA, an online platform or search engine becomes “Very Large” once it reaches at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU, according to The Verge. ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox have until the end of December 2026 to comply with the rules tied to the new designations. The rules include limits on targeting ads to minors and on using sensitive characteristics such as sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs for ad targeting, The Verge reports. The DSA also requires more transparency around how recommendation algorithms work. Henna Virkkunen, the EU executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in the announcement quoted by The Verge that the designations put ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox under a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability in the EU because of their impact on citizens and society. For OpenAI, the designation turns ChatGPT’s scale in Europe into a formal compliance trigger. The practical burden is not just content moderation in the traditional social-platform sense; according to the report, regulators are also focused on risks involving minors, mental health, illegal content, and transparency around systems that shape what users see or receive. Who benefits: EU regulators and users gain a clearer accountability framework for large online services, including ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox. The rules also create more transparency expectations around recommendation systems. Who's exposed: OpenAI, Reddit, and Roblox are exposed to higher compliance obligations in the EU. The provided reporting does not specify penalties or enforcement actions tied to these designations.