Activision Blizzard

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)

The 2023 Digital Inclusion Benchmark ranks 200 companies on their responsibility to advance a more inclusive digital society. The companies were assessed using four measurement areas: access, skills, use and innovation. This company ranked #165/200, with a total score of 15.5/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2023)

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)

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)

This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 26/100 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 22 Sept 2023). 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 (2023)

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)

A 2017 report by Amnesty International, 'Time to Recharge' ranks major electronics and car companies on how much they have improved their cobalt sourcing practices since January 2016. The report found that while a handful of companies have made progress, many are still not doing enough to stop human rights abuses entering their cobalt supply chains, even though their products could be linked to child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This company was rated 'no action taken'.
Source: Amnesty Intl (2017)

The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
Source: ASPI (2020)

'The Big Con' is a 2021 report by Corporate Accountability, Friends of the Earth and others that makes clear that Big Polluters' idea of "net zero" is part of their continued plan to protect deeply unjust global systems, distract from taking the real action needed, and to evade responsibility for the climate crisis and to continue to pollute. This company was named in the report as one whose "net zero" climate commitments are anything but real action.
Source: Corporate Accountability (2021)

This company was among the US Top 20 Defense Contractors derived from the 2019 Washington Technology Top 100 list, based on their 2018 defense contract revenue. Microsoft was number 52 with a defense revenue of US$366 million.
Source: Washington Technology (2019)

In 2022 KnowTheChain benchmarked 60 information, communications and technology (ICT) companies on their efforts to identify and tackle forced labour risks in their supply chains. This company received a score of 33/100. The average score was 20/100 and the highest score was 63.
Source: KnowTheChain (2022)

Engineers from ifixit.com disassembled and analysed a range of smartphones, tablets and laptops, awarding each a repairability score between one and ten. Ten is the easiest to repair. A device with a perfect score will be relatively inexpensive to repair because it is easy to disassemble and has a service manual available. Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components. Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity. Products released by this company between 2017 and 2020 scored between 0 and 6 points.
Source: iFixit (2020)

In 2023 Microsoft agreed to pay US$20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children who signed up to its Xbox gaming system without notifying their parents or obtaining their parents' consent, and by illegally retaining children's personal information.
Source: USA Federal Trade Commission (2023)

On 22 July 2019 the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission announced that Microsoft Corporation agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with its operations in four different foreign based subsidiaries (Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey). Microsoft Hungary also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $8,751,795 on related charges.
Source: US SEC (2019)

This company is on OpenSecrets.org's list of "Top Donors", a list of the 100 biggest givers in US federal-level politics since 1990. Companies on this list lobby and spend big, with large sums sent to candidates, parties and leadership PACs. This company comes in at number 24 on the list, with contributions totalling $76,460,490 between 1990 and 2020.
Source: Open Secrets (2020)

In 2022 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$190,302. The CEO was paid 289 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 (2023)

As You Sow's 2021 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, Satya Nadella came in at number 24 on the list, having been paid US$42,910,215 in 2020. 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 (2021)

The Invest Your Values Corporate Retirement Plan Sustainability Scorecard by As You Sow rates retirement plans on seven environmental and social sustainability issues. This company's default corporate retirement plan offered to employees is the BlackRock BTC LifePath which is rated Fair for gender equality and civilian firearms, and Poor for fossil fuels, deforestation, prison industrial complex, military weapons and tobacco.
Source: As You Sow (2022)