ChatGPT Faces Potential VLOP Designation Under EU DSA Rules

The European Commission is expected to decide by the first quarter of 2026 whether OpenAI’s ChatGPT should be designated as a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act. Such a designation would subject ChatGPT to the DSA’s most stringent obligations, including enhanced risk mitigation and governance duties. The decision follows questions from Members of the European Parliament regarding whether the chatbot meets the regulatory thresholds set by EU law.

In October, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT had an average of 120.4 million monthly users in the European Union, significantly exceeding the DSA threshold of 45 million users for very large online platforms. According to the Commission, designation requires both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the service, and may involve consultations with national authorities as well as input from the service provider.

A central legal issue is whether ChatGPT, as a standalone AI chatbot powered by a large language model, qualifies as a service type covered by the DSA. The reported user figures relate specifically to ChatGPT’s online search functionality, where the chatbot retrieves information from the web in a manner comparable to an online search engine. The Commission has been assessing since October whether this functionality brings ChatGPT within the scope of the regulation.

While the designation process is ongoing, the Commission has indicated that OpenAI could voluntarily comply with DSA obligations to address systemic risks linked to harmful content. This approach mirrors recent enforcement practice, including the designation of Meta’s WhatsApp as a very large online platform limited to its public channels, reflecting the DSA’s exclusion of private messaging services.