TikTok is banning FIFA 22 pack opening videos with “illegal activities” warning

EA SPORTS Ultimate Team content from FIFA 22 is being taken down on TikTok, with a warning appearing for some users stating it is “illegal activities and regulated goods.”

The FUT pack system has long been a contested feature, as it includes loot boxes with different valued in-game items that people can buy.

Pack openings have the ability to go viral on YouTube, TikTok, and other video-sharing platforms – especially if they have a valuable player card inside. For example, a rare ICON item or one of the world’s best footballers, such as Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Lionel Messi.

Previously, it has been argued that the loot box dimension of Ultimate Team can encourage “gambling” in young children, which led to it being removed entirely in Belgium. The case has also been made that pack opening videos encourage people to purchase more FIFA Points in-game.

And now, TikTok is striking pack content.

FIFA 22 Ultimate Team pack openings removed on TikTok

A post on Twitter, from user JLingz Lisa, shows that a La Liga Team of the Season pack opening video had been removed by TikTok.

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The alert shows it was taken down for “illegal activities and regulated goods” – which is a bit unclear.

A similar issue was also reported by efcdzn on Twitter, who claimed they posted a video “on route to get around 70-80k” views and it was also taken down.

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The same warning message, referring to “illegal activities” was posted there.

This case is a little different, however, as there is game code featured in the clip. For those who aren’t aware, public game code can reveal upcoming packs arriving in FUT.

Do pack FIFA pack openings break TikTok rules?

According to the TikTok community violation guidelines, there are a few ways content creators risk facing a strike.

These include gambling, frauds and scams, weapons, criminal activities, and personal data being shared. In this instance, the only logical explanation would be that Ultimate Team pack openings could be considered gambling – as it is banned in some countries, as noted earlier.

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For gambling, the guidelines state: “We do not allow content promoting gambling services, or that could be perceived as advertising for casinos, sports betting, or any other commercial gambling activity.” This can include: “Content that promotes casinos, sports betting, poker, lotteries, gambling-related software, and apps, or other gambling services.”

With that said, at the time of writing, there are still lots of pack opening videos live on TikTok, as seen below from thisisfg_, which indicates there may be some inconsistencies.

The news of some FUT videos being removed on social media comes just two months after FIFA packs were ruled as “not gambling” in the Netherlands.

In that ruling, the court said: “As EA explains, the packs in FUT mode perform a multipurpose function. They simulate the uncertainty that also occurs in the real football world when putting together a team.”

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“The vast majority of packs are obtained by and used for game participation,” the ruling continued. “The tradability of the packs on the black market is relative. The black market mainly focuses on trading complete accounts rather than individual packs or their contents.”

With that said, these latest developments could re-open that discussion within the community. We have approached TikTok for clarification on the content that has been removed.