OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot and video game company Roblox will be subject to stricter vetting and monitoring requirements under European Union content moderation rules after exceeding a threshold of 45 million monthly users, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, will designate the two US tech companies as “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the sources said.
The people added that this could happen as early as August. The DSA requires all social media and search engines to remove illegal and harmful content from their platforms.
The VLOPs, which also include companies like Meta and X, will also have to file transparency reports, detail risk mitigation plans and pay an annual fee to the European Commission.
Companies that violate the DSA risk fines of up to 6% of their annual global sales.
A commission spokesman declined to comment, and OpenAI and Roblox did not respond to requests for comment.
Since the EU Digital Services Act came into force in 2022, the European Commission has launched more than a dozen investigations into online platforms.
The rules have angered the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has accused the EU of “censoring American companies.”