In the spring of 2019, the player Runescape Amro Elansari discovered that he could not communicate in the game chat. This is the usual punishment that the studio moderators Jagex apply to offending players: they can play and trade with others, but can not leave messages on the forum and chat.
Elansari found such a punishment a violation of his right to freedom of speech and sued Jagex, demanding to remove the block and pay compensation “at the discretion of the jury.” An Eastern District judge dismissed the lawsuit, and an angry gamer filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals.
Referring to Section II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Elansari stated that he was discriminated against and “unequally treated” compared to all other players who can use the chat.
This did not help: the court of appeal confirmed that punishment in a video game is not a violation of constitutional rights. The first and fifth amendments apply only to state entities, but not to individuals and companies.
Reports that over the past year and a half, Elansari has filed ten lawsuits in the Eastern District Court. In particular, he tried to file a class action lawsuit against Tinder, but he was not accepted, since the right to represent other plaintiffs is granted only to lawyers.
