[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] ChatGPT and Roblox are expected to be designated as the European Union's "very large online platforms" (VLOP). If confirmed, the two services will face strengthened regulation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), including harmful content management and transparency reporting.

On July 30 local time, online media outlet Gigazine reported that the European Commission is proceeding with steps to classify ChatGPT and Roblox as very large platforms. The designation could come as early as August, the report said.

The status applies to online services with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU. ChatGPT and Roblox are both reported to meet that threshold.

If designated, operators must assess risks their services could cause under the DSA and prepare measures to reduce them. They must also submit regular transparency reports and pay an annual fee to the European Commission to cover supervision costs.

The move shows platforms with different characteristics are brought under the same regulatory system if they exceed a user-scale threshold. ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence-based conversational service, and Roblox is a games and user-generated content platform, but the EU plans to classify both as large online platforms.

Under the DSA, 19 services have been designated as very large online platforms, including major online platforms such as Amazon, YouTube, X, TikTok and Instagram, as well as search engines including Google and Bing. Adding ChatGPT and Roblox would expand the scope of DSA regulation to generative AI and game platforms.

The level of regulation is also substantial. If a company violates the DSA, it can be fined up to 6 percent of its global annual revenue. AliExpress was fined 550 million euros in July for violating the DSA, the biggest enforcement case since the law took effect, after it was found to have failed to sufficiently block the distribution of illegal and dangerous goods.

The market views the designation of ChatGPT and Roblox as going beyond simply meeting the user threshold. The two companies are expected to face new obligations, including strengthening harmful content management systems, transparency disclosures and higher compliance costs.

The step is seen as an example of the EU expanding the same regulatory framework beyond existing social media, e-commerce and search engines to include generative AI and game communities. Platforms with rapidly growing user bases are expected to find regulatory compliance capabilities emerging as an important competitive factor alongside technological competitiveness.