ChatGPT becomes first AI chatbot to face tougher EU rules
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The EU added ChatGPT to a list of digital services subject to greater legal scrutiny.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox are now designated as "very large" platforms by the EU, subjecting them to stricter rules owing to their large user base over 45 million monthly users.
- They must comply within four months with the Digital Services Act, which requires them to assess and reduce risks related to illegal content, user well-being, and public security.
- This marks the first time an AI chatbot like ChatGPT is regulated under these rules, setting a precedent for future AI system oversight in the EU.
AI generated
BRUSSELS – ChatGPT will have to comply with tougher safety rules after the European Union on Aug 31 added it to a list of digital services subject to greater legal scrutiny, a first for an artificial intelligence chatbot.
Brussels also designated Reddit and Roblox as “very large” online platforms, a label that comes with additional obligations and oversight.
“ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability in the European Union, in line with their large impact on our citizens and society,” EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said.
The “very large” designation applies to platforms and search engines with more than 45 million monthly active users in the 27-nation grouping, a threshold ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox reported meeting, the European Commission said.
The three now have four months to comply with additional obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a content law that is a major weapon in the legal armoury the EU has deployed to rein in Big Tech in recent years.
These include “assessing and mitigating the systemic risks stemming from their service and algorithmic systems related to the dissemination of illegal content, the negative effects on minors, users’ physical and mental well-being, fundamental rights, electoral processes and public security”, Brussels said.
To bring it under the DSA’s regulatory umbrella, the European Commission qualified ChatGPT as a search engine.
The hugely popular artificial intelligence chatbot developed by US company OpenAI reported more than 159 million users in the European Union at the end of March, representing over a third of the bloc’s population.
ChatGPT said it was “preparing to meet the additional compliance requirements” that came with the designation, while Roblox said it was “proud to be the first gaming platform” to gain the “very large” label in the EU.
“Safety is foundational to everything we do and we look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with the European Commission,” said the US-based platform’s general manager for Europe, Joost Hagesteijn.
Hugely popular with children and known for its immersive world of colourful graphics, Roblox says it has 46.6 million active players in the EU, just above the DSA threshold for tougher scrutiny.
The sprawling US discussion platform Reddit says it has more than 57 million users in the bloc.
The designations come as the EU has stepped up regulatory enforcement against the world’s biggest digital platforms, including many American ones, despite strong US pushback and threats of retaliation.
The EU has separately adopted the world’s most far-reaching rules to govern artificial intelligence. Its flagship AI Act entered into force in 2024, with obligations kicking in over several years to curb potentially dangerous uses of the technology.
Lena-Maria Boswald of German technology think-tank Interface said ahead of the announcement that the expected move would set a precedent and “influence the regulatory expectations for every large generative AI system used in the EU”.
“OpenAI already has risk-management obligations under the AI Act, but the DSA could widen the scope,” she said.
Around 30 services have been listed for extra scrutiny under the DSA, most of them owned by major technology companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, TikTok, X, Amazon and Shein.
The list also includes several porn sites and the collaborative online encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
Companies found in breach of the law face heavy penalties, including fines of up to 6 per cent of their annual global turnover and, in cases of serious and repeated violations, a possible ban on operating in Europe.
The EU recently told TikTok to change what it deemed its addictive design or face heavy fines.
To date, the bloc has hit three firms with penalties under the law: shopping giants Temu and AliExpress, and Elon Musk’s social media platform X, which was handed a €120 million (S$177 million) fine for transparency and other violations. AFP
