ChatGPT Faces EU's Toughest Digital Safety Rules

The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine under new digital safety rules. This makes it the first AI chatbot to face the EU’s highest tier of regulation. What's interesting is that Reddit and Roblox are also subject to these strict oversight requirements. ChatGPT was classified this way because it acts as a hybrid service, retrieving live web results for user queries. OpenAI reported about 159 million monthly active users in the EU, well above the 45 million user threshold. Reddit had 57.2 million users, and Roblox estimated between 46.6 and 48 million. These companies now have four months to adapt their operations to mandatory risk-mitigation standards. This includes monitoring for illegal content, protecting minors, and addressing impacts on well-being and fundamental rights. Non-compliance could lead to fines up to 6% of global annual turnover. The bottom line is these new rules mean higher scrutiny and accountability for these platforms, impacting users and the companies globally.