The European Commission formally designated OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) and Roblox as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA) on August 31, 2024. This designation triggers an array of new compliance requirements aimed at enhancing transparency, mitigating systemic risks, and increasing accountability for AI-driven services operating at scale within the European Union.
What Happened
On August 31, 2024, the European Commission announced its decision to classify ChatGPT and Roblox under the DSA’s “very large” category, defined by having more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU. This classification imposes stricter regulatory obligations, including mandatory annual independent audits, transparency in advertising practices, and the publication of biannual reports on content moderation. These requirements become legally binding four months from the announcement, setting a December 2024 compliance deadline.
Key Facts
The DSA, an EU regulation enacted to govern online platforms and search engines, applies to services meeting specific user thresholds. ChatGPT was designated a Very Large Online Search Engine because its current hybrid service model integrates live web results alongside chatbot-generated answers, a shift from its original design. Roblox was designated a VLOP as a game-creation platform with significant social features, including user-generated content and matchmaking functionality, placing it within the scope of the DSA’s platform rules.
Key compliance requirements include:
- Conducting systemic risk assessments and mitigating harmful impacts caused by their services.
- Submitting to annual independent audits.
- Providing vetted researchers access to internal data necessary to assess risks and impacts.
- Offering at least one recommendation system option that does not rely on profiling users.
- Publishing a public, detailed advertisement repository disclosing targeting parameters.
- Issuing biannual transparency reports on content moderation activities.
Ad placement transparency is especially relevant for ChatGPT, which recently began displaying topic-tailored ads in free service tiers. The DSA mandates disclosure of the “main parameters” used to target ads, a point of contention regarding OpenAI’s “context hints” system that directs ads based on conversational topics rather than traditional user profiling.
What This Means
This regulatory move marks a significant expansion of AI accountability frameworks within the European Union, reflecting a shift from traditional social media oversight to encompassing emergent AI-driven platforms and hybrid digital services. By holding ChatGPT and Roblox to detailed transparency and auditing standards, the Commission intends to reduce risks such as misinformation, systemic harm, manipulative advertising, and opaque recommendation algorithms.
For consumers, this means greater insight into how chatbots and online gaming environments shape content they see and interact with, offering assurances that these platforms cannot operate unchecked. For companies, complying with these rules will require deeper operational transparency and possibly reengineering certain features—particularly content recommendation systems and advertising mechanisms—to meet the non-profiling standard and data disclosure obligations.
Additionally, the decision underscores that the mere industry label—“game” for Roblox, or “chatbot” for ChatGPT—is subordinate to the scope of services provided. Social features, user interactions, and integration of web search capabilities influence regulatory designation. This recognition challenges companies across digital sectors to assess their services against evolving EU definitions rather than conventional categories.
Background
The Digital Services Act, adopted by the EU in 2022, set out a novel framework to address the societal challenges posed by large online platforms and search engines. Initially targeting established players like Facebook and Google, the DSA’s applicability has broadened to include hybrid services and emerging AI products, reflecting rapid technological and market shifts. The August 2024 designations represent the Commission’s application of fixed statutory categories to services whose functionality has evolved significantly since the DSA was drafted.
What Remains Unclear
Despite the clarity on designation and overarching obligations, ambiguity persists regarding exact implementation mechanisms. For instance, how ChatGPT will operationalize a “non-profiling” recommendation option remains unresolved, given the model’s session-based memory and synthesized answer format. Similarly, for Roblox and other gaming platforms, the challenge lies in balancing required data access for researchers with the ephemeral nature of many user interactions like voice chats and real-time gameplay data.
Furthermore, OpenAI may contest certain disclosure rules concerning advertisement targeting parameters, arguing that “context hints” relate to conversational context rather than user groups. The European Commission’s forthcoming guidance under Article 39 will be critical in defining these nuances and ensuring regulations translate into meaningful transparency.
What Comes Next
The deadlines set by the Commission mean ChatGPT, Roblox, and other designated very large services must achieve compliance with these new requirements by December 2024. The Commission is expected to issue clarifying guidelines addressing the interpretation of profiling, data access, and advertisement disclosure in coming months. These clarifications will guide effective enforcement and may set precedents for future designations of fast-evolving AI and digital service providers.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following sources:
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