EU subjects ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox to its strictest platform rules

The European Union has decided to apply its toughest set of online platform rules, normally reserved for the largest digital services, to the AI chatbot ChatGPT as well as to Reddit and Roblox. The decision indicates that the European Commission now regards ChatGPT as a search engine, meaning it must meet the same obligations as other major digital services covered by the EU's digital services rules.

Part of a broader push

The move fits into a wider EU effort to tighten oversight of large technology platforms and protect users, particularly young people, from potential online risks. Brussels has taken several related steps in recent months: in July it announced plans to set a minimum age below which young people would need parental supervision to access social media, while in April European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said an EU age-verification app, designed to help protect children online, was ready.

In May, the EU had already fined the e-commerce platform Temu 200 million euros — the largest penalty issued so far under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA).

Extending the strictest platform obligations to ChatGPT suggests EU regulators are increasingly focusing on generative AI tools, seeking to fold them into the existing framework for regulating digital platforms.