The EU Regulates ChatGPT: A Search Engine or a Platform?
The EU has classified ChatGPT as a search engine under the Digital Services Act (DSA), rather than a platform. This decision has significant implications for OpenAI, subjecting them to potential fines of up to 6% of global revenue, but with a crucial caveat: the regulation only covers the retrieval aspect of the tool, not the conversational element.
The European Commission’s designation focuses on the part of ChatGPT (164news.com on chatgpt) that retrieves information, leaving the interactive, conversational part untouched. This is significant as the alternative label, Very Large Online Platform, would have provided safe harbor protection, shielding OpenAI from liability for user-generated content. Classifying ChatGPT as a platform could have implied that the model’s output is considered third-party material, a significant shift in liability and content moderation.
Why the Difference in Classification?
The Commission had two options: search engine or platform. Choosing platform status would have brought content moderation obligations, as well as safe harbor protection. However, this could have raised questions about whether the interactive nature of ChatGPT’s conversations qualifies as user-generated content.
The Impact on Children and Chatbot Design
Christel Schaldemose, a key negotiator of the DSA, highlighted the potential risks associated with ChatGPT, particularly for children. She mentioned emotional dependency, manipulative design, and addictive features, suggesting the need for further clarification on how these risks are addressed under existing regulations, as these aspects fall outside the current designation.
The implications are significant, as global usage of chatbots for therapy reaches up to 60%, according to AXA’s 2026 Mind Health Report. Cases like the lawsuit brought by Adam Raine’s parents in California underscore the importance of regulation in this area.
A Hybrid Category
The DSA, while comprehensive, did not anticipate the rise of advanced chatbots. João Pedro Quintais, a law professor at the University of Amsterdam, notes ChatGPT’s unique hybrid nature, combining functions of search engines, online platforms, and publishers. This raises questions about how best to regulate such evolving technologies.