Illegal loot box advertising on social media: an empirical study using the Meta and TikTok ad transparency repositories

Abstract

Loot boxes are gambling-like products inside video games that can be bought with real-world money to obtain random rewards. They are widely available to children, and stakeholders are concerned about potential harms, e.g., overspending. UK advertising must disclose, if relevant, that a game contains (i) any in-game purchases and (ii) loot boxes specifically. An empirical examination of relevant adverts on Meta-owned platforms (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger) and TikTok revealed that only about 7% disclosed loot box presence. The vast majority of social media advertising (93%) was therefore non-compliant with UK advertising regulations and also EU consumer protection law. In the UK alone, the 93 most viewed TikTok adverts failing to disclose loot box presence were watched 292,641,000 times total or approximately 10 impressions per active user. Many people have therefore been repeatedly exposed to prohibited and socially irresponsible advertising that failed to provide important and mandated information. Implementation deficiencies with ad repositories, which must comply with transparency obligations imposed by the EU Digital Services Act, are also highlighted, e.g., not disclosing the beneficiary. How data access empowered by law can and should be used by researchers is practically demonstrated. Policymakers should consider enabling more such opportunities for the public benefit.