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A new class action lawsuit brought against the dating behemoth Match Group in California by six users reads a little like a disgruntled break-up text. It accuses the company – which owns 45 apps including Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid and Plenty Of Fish – of predatory behaviour, psychological manipulation and creating enforced codependency. But at its heart the suit is a fundamental challenge to social media platforms’ business model. This week the cultural critic Ted Gioia placed dating apps at the centre of what he called a “post-entertainment addiction culture” run by “dopamine cartels”. “Tech platforms want to create a world of junkies – because they will be the dealers,” Gioia wrote. “Addiction is the goal.” The Match lawsuit is in the vanguard of a legal campaign to hold companies that create addiction to account.