Addiction, whether related to substances or behaviors, is a complex phenomenon that affects many aspects of daily life. With the advent of digital technologies, new forms of addiction have emerged, particularly those linked to video games and social media.

Guided by the need to protect internet users, especially children, public authorities are increasingly regulating and strictly controlling the mechanisms and strategies used by industry players to limit the development of addictive behaviors and their consequences for the population.

Among the companies affected, ByteDance (TikTok) and Epic Games (Fortnite) are particularly targeted by legal proceedings and parliamentary inquiries.

Addiction and the law: Substances & behaviors

Introduction. Primarily a medical condition, addiction is defined as a pathological dependence on a substance or activity, characterized by a loss of control and the continuation of the activity despite its negative consequences.

Addictive behaviors take various forms, initially involving psychoactive substances before diversifying to encompass certain behaviors.

Behavioral addictions. These behavioral addictions have been defined as “the result of an interactional process between an individual and an external object or a commonplace activity, available to everyone, which leads to an experience on which a primarily psychological dependence develops due to the pleasurable effects it provides and the functions it fulfills. This dependence, which manifests as the repetition of the behavior, loss of control, obsession, and need, can lead to negative consequences for the individual and those around them.”

Based on this definition, the most well-known behavioral addictions include: gambling, compulsive shopping, sex, sports, work, food, as well as video games and screens, including social media, the internet, and mobile phones.

Their consequences can include, in particular, loss of control over the level of consumption/practice, changes in emotional balance, medical problems, and disruptions to personal, professional, and social life.

Law and addiction. The legal framework for protection against addiction.

Legally, addiction is a poorly defined concept. In contrast to its medical approach, most legislation adopts a case-by-case approach to identify the causes of addiction and their legal framework.

As such, psychoactive substances acting on the brain are subject to a distinction under criminal law, some being legal and others illegal. Article L5132-7 defines these illegal substances as narcotics, as defined by order of the Ministry of Health.

Public health. As a disease, addiction requires public authorities to implement numerous preventive measures, restrictions, and enforcement actions regarding the sale and access to services that can lead to forms of addiction. Regulations may require warnings about the risks of addiction, limitations on addictive features, and obligations to provide tools for managing usage time.

Justified by public health considerations, this can manifest itself in advertising and promotion with specific restrictions concerning certain products: cigarettes and alcohol, medications, weapons and drugs, gambling, lotteries, etc.

Gambling and addiction: from online poker to esports betting

Gambling activities have been prohibited since the 19th century, except for specific and limited exemptions, with the dual aim of protecting players from the risks of addiction and preventing fraudulent or criminal activities. Lotteries, sports betting, horse racing, and casino games benefit from aggressive marketing strategies and a strong capacity for innovation in the digital world to reach the widest possible audience.

New digital offerings. Since the 2010s, the public authorities responsible for regulating these activities, particularly the National Gaming Authority, have been confronted with the emergence of new offerings that exhibit the characteristics of gambling while circumventing existing regulations: games using NFTs, betting on esports competitions (strictly illegal but promoted to redirect users towards traditional offerings), gaming services in the metaverse, etc.

As noted by the Court of Auditors, these developments, which may present risks with regard to the objectives of gaming policy, call for vigilance and responsiveness from the State and the regulator.

Social networks, online content platforms and addiction

Social media addiction manifests as compulsive use of the platforms, often at the expense of daily activities and social relationships. Users may experience intense anxiety when disconnecting and a constant search for validation through “likes” and comments.

Government report on screen addiction. Entitled “Children and Screens: In Search of Lost Time,” a public report commissioned by the government in 2024 highlights the addictive risks associated with screens, particularly social media, which disproportionately affect minors.

The working group acknowledges that the concept of “screen addiction” as such is not yet scientifically recognized, but that screens, and especially social media use, can introduce additional risk factors when a child or adolescent has pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as depression or anxiety.

Documented by the medical and scientific community, several legal proceedings have been initiated denouncing the actions and processes used by social media platforms to foster these forms of addiction.

Addictive features. In 2021, the Meta group was accused of promoting addictive features on its social network Instagram, particularly harmful to teenagers. Internal documents revealed that the company was aware of the negative effects on the mental health of young users.

Instagram and alcohol promotion. In early 2023, the French National Association for Prevention in Alcoholism and Addictions (ANPAA) obtained, through an emergency procedure, a court order compelling META to remove influencer posts from Instagram.

Most of the content featured influencers associated with alcoholic beverages and brands of beer, wine, and spirits, in violation of the Evin Law and the provisions of Articles L3323-1 et seq. of the French Public Health Code.

TikTok on trial amid allegations of addictive mechanisms

The world’s fifth-largest social network, with 1.5 billion users, TikTok has experienced explosive growth by enabling the sharing of short-form videos. Owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, the platform has faced numerous legal challenges in recent years, stemming from concerns about addictive behavior and personal data breaches.

In 2022, TikTok faced several lawsuits in the United States, accused of encouraging excessive and addictive use of its platform, leading to negative impacts on users’ mental health, particularly among young people.

Find our upcoming feature on the addictive mechanisms within TikTok’s algorithms.

Personal data and espionage. TikTok is also subject to proceedings related to the processing and protection of the personal data it collects. Facing a ban in several countries, it is accused of being used by China, the country of origin of its creator, ByteDance, as a tool for espionage.

Several American and European public institutions have thus banned the downloading and use of TikTok on the devices of government employees. In the European Union, ByteDance was investigated by the Irish Data Protection Commission, which suspects it of violating European data protection legislation (GDPR) regarding the processing of children’s personal data and data transfers to China.

In April 2024, Washington passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok within twelve months, or face a ban on the app used by 170 million Americans. The social network launched legal proceedings against this “Anti-TikTok” law, arguing that it violates its users’ freedom of expression.

XP: Read our presentation on the issues surrounding TikTok’s use of personal data: TikTok: The App That Knew Too Much or The Spy We Loved?

Video games and addiction: mechanisms serving the profitability of the game

Factors of Video Game Addiction. Video game addiction, now recognized by the WHO as a gaming disorder, is characterized by excessive and compulsive use of games, interfering with daily life and social relationships.

Studies related to video game addiction reveal a multitude of criteria and factors contributing to the development of addiction. Certainly, socioeconomic status and personal factors, including age, gender, and certain personality traits, impact the mechanisms of addiction.

However, in recent years, other factors related to video games themselves have been identified, notably those that create player anonymity, the accessibility of games (particularly due to their low cost), the various gaming platforms (mobile devices, handheld consoles, etc.), and the use of dark patterns and pain points designed to personalize and optimize the player experience within the game.

Microtransactions and neuromarketing. Aware of these risks, studios and publishers are confronted with the economic logic of the sector, which favors in-game add-ons and paid microtransactions. Game design has thus evolved to better understand, and even manipulate, player behavior and personality as part of a retention strategy.

This has become evident in recent years as the AAA title market has progressively incorporated in-game purchases in the form of additional content, experience bonuses, loot boxes, video game competitions with prizes, and so on. Reinforced by the massive collection of game usage data, players’ personal data, and the integration of artificial intelligence tools, the personalization of the player experience, constantly adapted to their needs, seems to reinforce the risks of behavioral addictions.

Legal issues & liability of video games

The potential for video games to generate forms of addiction in their users has numerous legal consequences for video game studios. First and foremost, all regulations concerning the advertising and promotion of the game should be reviewed, as should, in some cases, access to the game itself, which could be prohibited, for example, for minors.

Providing information about game content and its prevention to the public would bring video game publishers closer to those involved in gambling and casinos, which would be particularly detrimental to the latter.

Furthermore, such negligence and shortcomings could lead to civil and criminal liability for the studios, depending on the specific behaviors and offenses involved.

Esports & addiction: protecting players and esports athletes

The growing popularity of esports and its economic development over the last decade has also impacted players in terms of addiction. Due to the various strategies used by video game publishers within games to retain players, addiction or cyber-dependence has been identified as one of the risks associated with video game playing, particularly affecting children.

The diversity of esports players’ activities, which also include representing clubs and creating and distributing online content, multiplies the risks associated with various forms of addiction to screens and social media.

XP: For more information on the protection of esports players

Growing concern among public authorities on this issue has prompted many states to address these challenges, sometimes through legal means – such as the regulation of gambling and loot boxes (XP) – or through legal action. Recently, the Dutch consumer and market authority fined Epic Games for illegal and aggressive business practices related to certain mechanisms within its flagship game, “Fortnite,” which it deemed to encourage children to purchase video game content.

Read our study dedicated to Epic Games and its recent conviction.

Epic Games is facing a lawsuit regarding addiction to “Fortnite”

Legal proceedings against Fortnite: In late 2022, Epic Games was already being sued in Canada by a group of parents denouncing the addictive and cyber-addiction mechanisms of Fortnite, particularly the perpetual organization of matches and the continuous encouragement of “excessive” spending, without having previously informed users or their legal guardians. The three parents and their lawyers are seeking “moral and material damages, as well as the restitution of benefits,” including the reimbursement of all purchases made by underage players.

A ruling issued in late December upheld the principle of the lawsuit, while Epic Games maintained that the entire case was empty: insufficient evidence, lack of expert opinions, valid medical records, or studies on the adverse effects of the video game.

In April 2022, Epic Games had already reached a $26.5 million settlement in North Carolina related to purchases of its virtual currency by minors.