Ofcourse they can ban you for any reason they want, they do hold the rights to the game.
But they also have to inform you why, its because you broke the ToS, threats, etc.......
You as a player have the right to know why they have banned you, remember they hold your details to your credit cards and stuff......
and its true that it would only happen in teh US, where anyone can sue anyone over anything , wouldnt happen in Europe.
But say someone did get banned, and that person is wealthy or bored enough to take EA or Broadsword to court, the judge will ask to see proof of this evil doing, some proof that cheating was taking place, your word in court is only valid if backed up by facts and evidence, as EA wont be able to justify the ban, as they cannot prove it then what happens? They end up losing and paying out. Its not rocket science.
If they do proof the ban, well that individual will be paying big sum of cash to EA for the court costs, trust me, so It wont be done willy nilly, someone will have to be very sure of their claim and that they can proof themselves innocent.
Using my example a few posts back, having multiboxers, is much easier to get 5 friends to say yeah they where all playing same time , than for EA or Broadsword to proof that person was playing solo....
I agree, but you don't have to be rich in the US to file a civil lawsuit. You can file a lawsuit and post on a gamer forum and have others file with you. It's not uncommon to have lawsuits with multiple people complaining against one corporation. Judges don't expect lawyer level legal paperwork when filing a civil lawsuit.
Lets play this situation out as realistic as possible.
Player A buys Broadsword's product.
Player A is forced to sign TOS after buying Broadsword's product to play what he paid for already.
Player A plays for a while and pays a subscription fee.
Broadsword deems Player A a cheater and bans them. Sends them a form letter saying they are banned for a general reason.
Player A is upset about the loss and emails Broadsword for a refund on what he spent on the game and the current subscription.
Broadsword ignores the request or replies with another form letter.
Player A does research and finds multiple video gaming forums with others that have been banned.
Player A sends a letter to the legal Contact information on Broadsword's website with research that seems relevant. Asks for refund again.
Broadsword declines the refund or doesn't respond in a month.
Player A looks up how to file a civil damages lawsuit for his refund.
Player A posts his intentions on the gaming forums and has Player B and Player C join him in the lawsuit.
Player A files the lawsuit at his local courthouse for about $50 at most. He provides the courthouse with the Legal address of Broadsword and mails them a copy of the lawsuit.
Player A is assigned a court date.
Broadsword receives a lawsuit that they have to respond to. They can either ask for more time to fact hunt, they can file for a change in location, or they can proceed with the date.
Player A can demonstrate that he and his two other players make significantly lower income than Broadsword ( a company ) so Broadsword has to hear the case in their location.
Broadsword pays a lawyer to represent them at the court date and they provide all the research they've gathered.
Player A (with B and C potentially but not required) show up to court and meet with the lawyer and judge.
Judge will ask if Player A wants to proceed without a lawyer and Player A says yes.
Judge will listen for facts and if those facts are argued by the other party.
Player A will state they bought the game in good faith and paid a subscription. They may or may not have billing records. Broadsword will of course agree that player paid because it's easy to prove.
Broadsword will explain why they banned the player. The player will argue because this is not easy to prove.
Broadsword will say it's their intellectual property and bring up the TOS.
The judge will determine if the TOS matters (Spoiler: It doesn't in the US for a lot of the verbiage.) and if Broadsword proved cheating was occurring.
If the player wins the Judge will give him a settlement verdict of the cost of the game and month subscription.
If Broadsword wins they still lose because they have to pay the attorney more than the settlement.