EU eyes ChatGPT under DSA

European Union regulators are reviewing whether ChatGPT should be treated as a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (channelnewsasia.com) The review followed OpenAI’s disclosure that ChatGPT search reached about 120.4 million average monthly active recipients in the European Union over the six months ending September 30, 2025. The Digital Services Act sets the threshold for “very large” services at more than 45 million monthly users in the bloc. (help.openai.com) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) A European Commission spokesperson said on Friday, April 10, 2026, that the Commission was analyzing whether ChatGPT falls into that category. Reuters reported the review after Handelsblatt first reported the move. (channelnewsasia.com) (enterpriseai.economictimes.indiatimes.com) If the Commission designates a service as very large, the provider gets four months to comply with the toughest Digital Services Act duties. Those rules include assessing systemic risks, putting mitigation measures in place, and maintaining stronger transparency and compliance systems. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) The case turns on how Brussels classifies ChatGPT search, not on OpenAI’s total chatbot audience. OpenAI said the published figure was calculated for Digital Services Act compliance and referred to ChatGPT search users in the European Union over the prior six months. (help.openai.com) (channelnewsasia.com) The Digital Services Act already gives the European Commission direct enforcement power over very large platforms and very large search engines. The law has applied to all covered services since February 17, 2024, and to designated very large services four months after designation. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu 1) (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu 2) For OpenAI, the immediate issue is process, not a final penalty. The Commission can request information, open an investigation, and, if it ultimately finds a breach, impose fines of up to 6 percent of a provider’s global annual turnover. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) OpenAI has already built some Digital Services Act infrastructure, including a European Union point of contact for authorities and a public transparency page. A 2025 transparency report from OpenAI Ireland Limited says it was published under Articles 15 and 24 of the regulation. (help.openai.com) (cdn.openai.com) The next step is the Commission’s classification decision. If Brussels decides ChatGPT search is a very large online search engine, OpenAI would move from reporting user numbers to meeting the same platform-style obligations that already apply to the European Union’s biggest online services. (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) (channelnewsasia.com)