The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a ‘very large online search engine’ (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act. This puts it under enhanced supervision and subjects it to stricter rules designed to preserve competition.
This classification has been imposed on OpenAI by Brussels because it has 159 million users per month. That is well above the threshold of 45 million, from which stricter obligations apply.
Brussels specifically describes ChatGPT as a hybrid service. It can respond to users’ questions, but can also search for information on the internet in order to generate answers.
Stricter rules will also apply to Reddit and Roblox, but in their case because they are now classified as very large online platforms (VLOP).
The US companies have four months to comply with the obligations that come with the new designation. In essence this means that they bear more responsibility for what their users post on the platforms, that they must act proactively in the event of legal violations, and that, broadly speaking, they face more transparency obligations.
The European Commission, for its part, will gain investigative powers to assess the functionality of these services and their associated systems.
There are now 23 platforms and search engines designated under the DSA.
Emerce
