Why have ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox become 'big' targets for surveillance in Europe?

Imagine this: You wake up every morning and ask an AI for a summary of today’s news, share your hobbies on Reddit in the evening, and your children enjoy virtual worlds on Roblox on the weekend. These services that we use every day have now become a part of our lives. But what if you had no way of knowing how these massive services handle the data you leave behind, or how hard they are working to filter out harmful information?

The European Union (EU) recently made a big decision to answer this question. On August 31, the European Commission officially designated ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox as “Very Large Online Services” within Europe [Source 1, Source 10]. Now, they must operate within the framework of the “Digital Services Act (DSA),” Europe’s strictest online safety and data protection regulation [Source 2, Source 12].

Why is this important?

From a user’s perspective, this announcement is very reassuring. Until now, these giant platforms have often not been transparent about how they utilize user data or why they provide certain responses. It’s as if you had no idea how the kitchen of a famous restaurant was run. However, through this DSA designation, these services are now held to a higher level of safety accountability. They are strictly required to follow the EU’s rigorous rules, which include data protection, blocking misinformation, and user protection measures [Source 6].

Easy to understand: What is a ‘Very Large Service’?

The criterion for being “very large” under the Digital Services Act (DSA) is simple: it is based on “how many people use it.” If a service has an average of more than 45 million users per month in Europe, its influence is deemed to be close to the public sphere [Source 5, Source 14].

To use an analogy, a small neighborhood cafe is relatively free to manage hygiene inspections, but a large company cafeteria used by thousands of people must pass the strictest hygiene standards of the food safety authorities every time. The logic of the EU is that having many users means the service has a significant impact on society, and therefore, stricter management is necessary [Source 17].

Following this decision, ChatGPT has been classified as a “Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE),” while Reddit and Roblox have been classified as “Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs)” [Source 12, Source 16].

Current situation: What changes?

So, what exactly will change? These companies must now step away from autonomous operating methods and take responsibility for user safety within a legal framework. For example, they must transparently disclose what information their service’s algorithms expose to users and prove how quickly they delete harmful content. They must also undergo regular audits by external agencies, and stricter standards will be applied to their data collection and management methods. This designation means that these large services, which have been left as a “lawless zone” until now, have finally begun to share the heavy burden of social responsibility [Source 7].

These services must reorganize their internal operating systems to be fully compliant with the EU’s requirements by the end of December 2026 [Source 14].

How far will it change?

The key is what kind of transparency enhancements and concrete data protection measures these companies will come up with by the end of the year. It must be a substantive safety mechanism that users can actually feel, rather than just a show of change. Starting with this case, all large services that exceed the user count threshold will naturally become subject to the same regulations. I look forward to this serving as an important milestone in making the operations of giant platforms healthier and more transparent, allowing us to use AI and communities with greater peace of mind.

References

1. Commission designates ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox under Digital Services Act
2. EU puts ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox under additional regulatory requirements
3. EU puts ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox under stricter rules
4. ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox to adhere to EU’s “very large platform” rules
5. ChatGPT and Roblox VLOP Designations: What to Watch
6. EU places ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under strictest digital safety rules
7. ChatGPT becomes the first AI chatbot designated under the DSA
8. ChatGPT to face tougher regulation in the EU
9. EU Designates ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as very large services
10. ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox to adhere to EU’s “very large platform” rules