EU weighs ChatGPT rules
The European Commission is reviewing whether OpenAI’s ChatGPT should be classified under the Digital Services Act as a large online platform or a large search engine, a designation that would bring heavier obligations. (thehindu.com) OpenAI’s release notes already reflect Europe as a special regulatory zone — for example, ChatGPT memory is available to Plus users outside Europe but not within it. (help.openai.com)
European Union regulators are weighing whether ChatGPT belongs in the Digital Services Act’s biggest category, a move that would trigger tougher oversight. (msn.com) The European Commission said on Friday, April 10, 2026, that it is analyzing whether ChatGPT should be treated as a very large online platform or a very large online search engine under the law. OpenAI’s published figures showed ChatGPT search reached about 120.4 million average monthly active users in the European Union in the six months through September 2025. (yahoo.com; kfgo.com) Under the Digital Services Act, services with more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union can be designated as very large online platforms or very large online search engines. Once designated, they have four months to comply. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Those designations bring the law’s heaviest duties: annual risk assessments, outside audits, an internal compliance function, and steps to reduce harms tied to illegal content, fundamental rights, public security, elections, public health, minors, and mental wellbeing. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The case turns on a basic classification question. ChatGPT is a chatbot first, but OpenAI now also offers ChatGPT Search, which lets users ask for current information from the web inside the same product. (help.openai.com) Europe is already treated as a separate compliance zone in OpenAI’s product rollout. OpenAI’s release notes say Memory is available to all ChatGPT Plus users except in Europe and Korea, where the company said it would roll the feature out later. (help.openai.com) OpenAI has also built Europe-specific infrastructure for business customers. Its help center says ChatGPT data residency is available for Europe, defined there as the European Economic Area plus Switzerland, and that inference residency can keep model processing in-region for eligible customers. (help.openai.com) The Digital Services Act is separate from the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act. The Digital Services Act governs online intermediaries and search services, while the Artificial Intelligence Act regulates artificial intelligence systems by risk category. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) If the Commission decides ChatGPT fits the Digital Services Act’s top tier, OpenAI would face the same kind of systemic-risk regime that already applies to the European Union’s largest platforms and search engines. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu)
