EU weighs reclassifying ChatGPT
Brussels is considering whether ChatGPT should be treated as a “large online platform” under the Digital Services Act, a move that would bring tighter compliance obligations for the chatbot. At the same time in the U.S., Microsoft asked a judge to dismiss antitrust claims that it colluded with OpenAI over ChatGPT pricing, and OpenAI warned macOS users to update after rotating certificates over a third‑party data issue. Commentators are also urging regulators to examine the AI sector’s so‑called “hidden financial loop” — the investment and distribution ties that could reshape competition in the industry. (thehindu.com, techradar.com, techradar.com, techpolicy.press
Brussels is weighing whether ChatGPT belongs in the European Union’s toughest tier of online-service regulation under the Digital Services Act. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, newsbreak.com) The European Commission said on April 10 that it was analyzing whether ChatGPT should be treated as a “large online platform” or search service after OpenAI published European user numbers above the law’s threshold. The Digital Services Act sets that line at 45 million monthly users in the European Union. (newsbreak.com, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) OpenAI says ChatGPT search averaged about 120.4 million monthly active recipients in the European Union in the six months ending September 30, 2025. OpenAI posted that figure in a Digital Services Act disclosure updated in early April 2026. (help.openai.com) A designation would start a four-month compliance clock and add duties that go beyond basic notice-and-takedown rules. The European Commission says services in that category must assess systemic risks, submit to independent audits, and maintain internal compliance functions. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The European case is moving alongside a United States court fight over whether OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft distorted the market around ChatGPT. Reuters reported on April 14 that Microsoft asked a judge to dismiss consumer antitrust claims tied to ChatGPT pricing. (msn.com) That lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco in October 2025, alleges Microsoft used its cloud deal and more than $13 billion in backing for OpenAI to restrict computing supply and push up generative artificial intelligence prices. Microsoft has denied wrongdoing and is seeking dismissal. (classaction101.com, pymnts.com, msn.com) OpenAI is also dealing with a separate security cleanup on Apple Mac computers. On April 10, the company said it had identified an issue involving the third-party developer tool Axios and was rotating certificates used to verify that its macOS apps were legitimate. (openai.com, cnbc.com) OpenAI said it found no evidence that user data was accessed, that its systems or intellectual property were compromised, or that its software was altered. It still told macOS users to update ChatGPT and other OpenAI apps after revoking the affected certificates. (openai.com, bleepingcomputer.com) A separate policy debate is building around what Tech Policy Press called the artificial intelligence industry’s “hidden financial loop.” The argument is that the same companies can invest in model makers, sell them cloud capacity, distribute their products, and then book revenue from those ties, making competition harder to read from headline market shares alone. (techpolicy.press) That is the backdrop for Brussels’ ChatGPT review: one regulator is testing whether a chatbot now looks enough like a giant platform to regulate like one, while courts and policy analysts are asking how much power sits inside the alliances behind it. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu, techpolicy.press, newsbreak.com)
