EU weighs ChatGPT as 'platform'
The European Commission is considering whether to classify ChatGPT as a “large online platform” under the Digital Services Act after OpenAI disclosed user counts above 45 million. If designated, OpenAI would face platform‑style obligations around risk management, transparency and systemic oversight rather than just AI‑specific rules. (enterpriseai.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
European Union regulators are weighing whether ChatGPT should be treated like one of the bloc’s biggest internet platforms under the Digital Services Act. (reuters.com) The European Commission said on April 10 that it is analyzing whether ChatGPT falls into the law’s category for very large online platforms or very large online search engines. OpenAI disclosed that ChatGPT search reached about 120.4 million average monthly active recipients in the European Union in the six months ending September 30, 2025. (reuters.com) (help.openai.com) Under the Digital Services Act, services above 45 million monthly users in the European Union can be designated for the law’s toughest tier of oversight. The Commission says those designated services face the “most stringent rules” in the statute. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Those rules go beyond ordinary notice-and-takedown duties. The Commission says very large platforms and search engines must assess systemic risks every year, submit to independent audits, and publish the results. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu 1) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu 2) The case turns on a basic question about what ChatGPT is in legal terms. OpenAI’s filing counted users for “ChatGPT search,” a feature the company introduced to let the chatbot browse the web and return answers with links, closer to a search engine than a closed chatbot. (help.openai.com) (openai.com) That matters because the Digital Services Act was written for online intermediaries such as marketplaces, social networks, and search engines, not for generative artificial intelligence assistants. The Commission is now testing how far that platform rulebook reaches when one product does both conversation and web discovery. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (techpolicy.press) OpenAI said it published the user figure to comply with existing Digital Services Act obligations and said the number should not be used for other purposes. Reuters reported that the company did not immediately comment on whether ChatGPT should be formally designated under the stricter regime. (help.openai.com) (reuters.com) The European Union is already regulating artificial intelligence through a separate law, the Artificial Intelligence Act, which sets rules based on how risky a system is. A Digital Services Act designation would add platform-style supervision on top of those artificial intelligence rules if Brussels decides ChatGPT fits the category. (artificialintelligenceact.eu) (euractiv.com) The Commission has designated major services under the Digital Services Act before, including Google Search, TikTok, X, YouTube, Amazon Store, and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram. A ChatGPT designation would push a conversational artificial intelligence product into the same enforcement lane as those much older internet services. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (loc.gov) For OpenAI, the next step is not a new product launch but a legal classification. For Brussels, the decision will help show whether Europe’s platform law can stretch to cover the new generation of artificial intelligence interfaces. (reuters.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu)
