ChatGPT, Roblox to fall under strictest EU rules for platforms

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and video game company Roblox will be subject to stricter scrutiny and monitoring requirements under the European Union’s content moderation rules after surpassing a threshold of 45 million monthly users in the bloc.

The EU’s executive arm will designate the two US technology companies as “very large online platforms” in line with the Digital Services Act (DSA), a person familiar with the matter said.

The designation is set to come as soon as August, the person said, asking not to be identified because the decision was confidential.

The DSA requires all social networks and search engines to clamp down on illegal and harmful content on their platforms.

The “VLOPs”, which also include Meta Platforms and Elon Musk’s X, must also file transparency reports, detail risk mitigation plans and pay an annual fee to the European Commission.

Companies that breach the DSA risk fines of as much as 6 per cent of their annual global sales.

A commission spokesperson declined to comment. OpenAI and Roblox did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The DSA aims to protect children online by compelling tech companies to safeguard their experiences.

Roblox, which has faced criticism over its child-safety protections, recently implemented stronger controls over who kids talk to and what games they play. The company is also moving more into advertising, which the DSA aims to make more transparent when it comes to marketing to kids.

The commission has opened more than a dozen probes into online platforms since the DSA came into force in 2022. The rules have riled US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has accused the EU of censoring American companies.

In December, X was fined €120 million (S$177 million) for deceptive design and a lack of transparency. The company appealed.

Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce service was fined €550 million earlier in July after the EU said it failed to properly evaluate unsafe or counterfeit products sold on its platform. BLOOMBERG