Have EA breached GDPR Article 22 with automated bans?
Hi everyone,
It looks like anticheat implementatios are issuing bans automatically — and the email says “we noticed your account…” but doesn’t include any case number, proof, or mention of human review.
Under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), companies that restrict access to online content or services must:
clearly explain moderation decisions,
provide a reasoned notice, and
offer an appeal reviewed by a human before issuing the ban
If bans are issued purely by automation and you weren’t told, that’s not compliant with the DSA. Neither the email or the TOS mention the action being automated, which means every ban issued breaches GDPR.
You can report this to your national authority or the European Commission through the DSA reporting channels, especially if the same process has affected many users.
This isn’t about defending cheating, cheating does ruin games— it’s about making sure enforcement is transparent, fair, and human-checked, as EU law requires. Because far too many people are being issued bans, without any support or justification.
Under GDPR you can also request what evidence they have, which they must provide as it potentially contains your private data. But at least you have something to discuss on the followup appeal.