MediaLaws is pleased to share a recent contribution by our Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Marco Bassini, and our Author, Andrea Palumbo, to an article published by Euractiv, examining the European Commission’s decision to designate ChatGPT’s search function as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The article, by Anupriya Datta and Maximilian Henning, features contributions from Bassini, Palumbo, and other experts, exploring the challenges raised by bringing an AI chatbot within the DSA’s platform governance framework.
In particular, the analysis highlights three key questions.
- First, a boundary problem: where does ChatGPT’s search service end and the wider chatbot begin?
- Second, a fit problem: how can obligations originally designed for traditional search engines be effectively adapted to an AI-powered conversational service?
- Third, an enforcement problem: how will the DSA interact in practice with the AI Act, which already regulates ChatGPT at the model level?
The designation therefore adds a new layer to the EU’s already complex regulatory framework for generative AI, while raising important questions about the practical coordination and enforcement of the two regimes.
