Abstract
This paper explores whether existing consumer rights in South Africa are well-equipped to effectively protect young gamers in this new gaming ecosystem. Modern-day video games increasingly integrate digital transactions which rely on opaque algorithms designs. These transactions raise concerns regarding potential exploitative and manipulative mechanisms which challenge established principles of fairness, transparency and human dignity. Drawing from a narrower and philosophical view of human dignity, this paper aims to establish that deceptive loot box systems undermine consumer rights and further violate fundamental constitutional values afforded to children.
Although, legal scholarship surrounding loot boxes in South Africa remains limited, with existing studies showing a flicker of engagement, focusing largely on the gambling and addiction-related concerns associated with loot boxes, the South African gaming industry continues to grow, adopting internationally used loot box customs. This paper adopts a predictive view, using contract law principles, constitutional and ethical aspects of loot box designs to offer a forecast showing the dangerously manipulative complexities of the modern video game world.
This paper concludes that the current South African legal framework is ill-equipped to thoroughly address the complex digital world of algorithmic manipulation in the gaming realm, thus calling for a technologically aware and sensitive reform that balances innovation and children’s interests.