EU weighs DSA designation

The European Commission is examining whether ChatGPT should face the European Union’s toughest Digital Services Act rules after OpenAI reported user numbers above the bloc’s legal threshold. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, help.openai.com, enterpriseai.economictimes.indiatimes.com) A Commission spokesperson said on Friday, April 11, 2026, that OpenAI’s published figures are enough to trigger consideration of a designation under the law, according to reports citing the briefing. Reuters said the Commission is analyzing whether ChatGPT fits the category of a very large online platform or very large online search engine. (yahoo.com, enterpriseai.economictimes.indiatimes.com) Under Article 33 of the Digital Services Act, services with at least 45 million average monthly active recipients in the European Union can be designated by the Commission for stricter oversight. The Commission says those designated services must follow the law’s “most stringent rules.” (eur-lex.europa.eu, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) OpenAI says it publishes those user figures every six months for ChatGPT search in the European Union to comply with Article 24(2) of the law. TechCrunch reported in April 2025 that OpenAI Ireland Limited had disclosed about 41.3 million average monthly active recipients for the six months ending March 31, 2025, still below the 45 million line at that point. (help.openai.com, techcrunch.com) That makes this a threshold story first and an artificial intelligence story second. The Digital Services Act does not automatically regulate a chatbot more heavily because it uses generative artificial intelligence; it does so when a service is large enough in Europe and is formally designated. (eur-lex.europa.eu, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) If ChatGPT is designated, OpenAI would join a group of services already subject to extra duties such as annual independent audits, risk assessments, and risk-mitigation measures. The Commission said in November 2024 that the first designated platforms and search engines had to start publishing those audit and risk-assessment reports. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) Those extra duties focus on systemic risks, including illegal content, effects on fundamental rights, public security, and civic processes. A Commission report published on December 9, 2025, set out the risk landscape regulators are tracking across very large platforms and search engines. (eur-lex.europa.eu, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) OpenAI has already built some European Union compliance machinery around the law. Its help page lists a designated government contact point, out-of-court dispute settlement information, and a complaint channel for illegal content notices, while its 2025 transparency material says OpenAI Ireland Limited is the reporting entity for the bloc. (help.openai.com, cdn.openai.com) The next step is not a fine or an immediate rule change. It is a Commission decision on whether ChatGPT belongs in the same legal bucket as the European Union’s biggest platforms and search engines. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, yahoo.com)