The European Commission has formally designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act. The move, announced this week, places the three services under the DSA's toughest transparency and risk-management rules. Anthropic's Claude chatbot was not designated, because its declared European user base falls below the 45 million monthly active user threshold.
Why Claude escaped designation
The DSA threshold is 45 million average monthly users in the European Union. Companies self-declare their figures to the Commission. ChatGPT's search function reported 159.1 million EU users — roughly 3.5 times the threshold. Reddit declared 57.2 million, and Roblox cleared the bar by just 1.6 million, implying about 46.6 million EU users.
Anthropic's count for the six months ending 31 October 2025 was below the threshold, but the exact number remains private. The snapshot is ten months old, and a new filing is due. Claude's exemption rests on scale alone — not on any special treatment.
What the designation means
Designated platforms must assess systemic risks tied to illegal content, minors, mental well-being, and elections. They also have to open their systems to independent audits. The Commission has shown it will enforce the rules: in December 2025 it fined X (formerly Twitter) 120 million euros, the first non-compliance decision under the DSA. Penalties can reach 6% of global turnover.
EU Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said the Commission will not hesitate to designate any platform that meets the threshold. That statement carries weight for Anthropic, which also faces a lawsuit over training data.
The compliance clock
The newly designated platforms have four months to comply, with a deadline in January 2027. That gives ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox time to build the required risk-assessment frameworks and audit trails. For Reddit and Roblox, the obligations are new territory — both have previously operated with lighter EU oversight.
Stripchat lost its DSA designation in May 2025 after its user numbers fell below the threshold, showing the designations can be reversed. But for now, the three companies are in the spotlight.
Anthropic's next move
Anthropic's next European filing will determine whether Claude receives the heaviest DSA obligations. If its user count crosses 45 million, the company will face the same risk assessments, audits, and potential fines as the others. If it stays below, Claude remains outside the DSA's most demanding tier.
The filing is due soon, and the Commission will be watching. The question isn't whether Claude is big enough today — it's whether it will be by the time the next count lands.
