Article 33 · Regulation (EU) 2022/2065
Designation and the 45 million threshold
The Commission designates any platform or search engine with at least 45 million average monthly active recipients in the Union.
- Applies to
- VLOPs and VLOSEs
- Frequency
- On designation; reviewed on changing user numbers
Article 33 is the gate. A provider that reports at least 45 million average monthly active recipients of the service in the Union — roughly 10% of the Union population — can be designated by Commission decision as a very large online platform or a very large online search engine.
The number comes from the provider itself. Article 24(2) obliges every online platform and search engine to publish its average monthly active recipients in the Union, averaged over the preceding six months, and to refresh that figure at least every six months. Designation is the Commission acting on published self-reported data, which is why the counting methodology is contested territory rather than a formality.
The threshold is not fixed forever. If the Union population moves by 5% or more from its 2020 level, the Commission can adjust the figure by delegated act.
Designation runs in both directions. Where a service falls durably below the threshold, Article 33(5) requires the Commission to withdraw the designation — as it did for Stripchat on 27 May 2025.
The obligations in this section do not apply from the day of the decision. Article 33(6) gives a provider four months from notification of the designation decision before the asymmetric duties bite.
Worth knowing
- Designation is by service, not by company. Google Ireland holds five separate designations; Meta holds two.
- A provider can be a VLOP for one surface and untouched for another — the count is per designated service.
- The four-month clock runs from notification, which is normally the same day the Commission announces the decision but is the legally operative date.