Activision Blizzard

This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 15/100 in the Interactive Media Services & Home Entertainment category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 16 Dec 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)

Many apps are designed to be deliberately addictive, using psychological tricks that continuously grab your attention. The Center for Humane Technology partnered with Moment, an app that helps people track their screen time, to ask how much screen time in apps left people feeling happy, and how much time left them in regret. Apps were ranked with data collected from a pool of 200,000 iPhone users. This company's Candy Crush Saga app ranked second in the Most Unhappy list, with 71% of users reporting they are "unhappy" with the app and how much time they spend on it, with daily usage averaging 46 minutes. Their Candy Crush app ranked fifth in the Most Unhappy list, with 59% of users reporting they are "unhappy" with the app and how much time they spend on it, with daily usage averaging 47 minutes.
Source: Center for Humane Tech (2021)

In 2022 this company agreed to pay US$18 million to settle a class action lawsuit over sexual harassment and discrimination allegations. According to CNN, the company fostered a "frat boy" culture where female employees were discriminated against and forced to "continually fend off unwanted sexual comments and advances by their male coworkers".
Source: Top Class Actions (2022)

In 2017 a California judge approved a US$1.5 million settlement to resolve class action claims that senior artists for the this company were wrongly classified as exempt and thus shortchanged on overtime.
Source: Law360 (2017)

A 2019 report by TaxWatch UK reveals how Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens. The multinational company has a complex structure with subsidiaries in a number of tax havens including Malta, the Netherlands, Barbados and Bermuda. The company is currently under investigation by tax authorities in the UK, Sweden and France over alleged transfer pricing irregularities and is facing a potential bill of over $1.1bn in back taxes and penalties.
Source: TaxWatch UK (2019)

In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$94,308. The CEO was paid 319 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)

As You Sow's 2022 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, Robert A. Kotick came in at number 12 on the list, having been paid US$154,613,318 in 2021. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
Source: As You Sow (2022)

In 2023 this company agreed to pay US$35 million to resolve claims by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the video game maker violated its whistleblower protection rules, and failed to have a system in place to keep a record of employees' company misconduct complaints. Activision was accused by the SEC of requiring former employees - from 2016 to 2021 - to sign disclosure agreements promising they would let the company know if an agency similar to the SEC reached out to them during an investigation.
Source: Top Class Actions (2023)