The regulatory guillotine in the European Union has come down on ChatGPT. The European Commission has officially classified OpenAI's flagship product as a platform subject to the highest level of oversight under the Digital Services Act (DSA). However, notably, the competing assistant Claude from Anthropic did not make it onto this list. Let's break down why this happened and what it means for the market.
The key criterion for entering the "red zone" is not quality or safety, but the sheer scale of the audience. The threshold is set at 45 million average monthly users in the EU. The figures that platforms provide themselves become the basis for the regulator's decision.
OpenAI reported 159.1 million users of the ChatGPT search function. That is 3.5 times the threshold value. Also making the list were Reddit with 57.2 million and Roblox, which barely crossed the minimum bar by reporting 46.6 million. Notably, the mechanism works both ways: in May 2025, the adult service Stripchat lost its strictest oversight status after its audience fell below the set minimum.
Why did Claude remain in the shadows?
Anthropic, unlike OpenAI, does not disclose exact figures for its European audience. The company is required to publish data at least twice a year, but the latest report for the period ending October 31, 2025, showed results significantly below the threshold. Since then, the data has been outdated by ten months, and Anthropic has already announced its stock exchange debut, making the situation even more intriguing.
All three platforms now under enhanced oversight will have four months—until January 2027—to conduct an assessment of systemic risks related to illegal content, disinformation, mental health, and the protection of minors. This is not a formality: the European Commission has already proven the seriousness of its intentions by fining X (formerly Twitter) 120 million euros in December 2025. That was the first fine for violating the DSA, and the maximum penalties under the law can reach 6% of a company's global turnover.
My analysis: Claude's current "exemption" is a temporary reprieve, not an indulgence. Given Anthropic's rapid growth and its ambitions in the European market, the company's next report could dramatically change the landscape. If Claude's audience crosses the threshold, the company will instantly fall under the same regulatory machinery. For investors, this is an important signal: regulatory pressure is becoming an integral part of operational risks for all major players in the AI sector, and this factor can no longer be ignored.