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US video game developer Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay $35 million to settle allegations that it has failed to comply with disclosure controls and procedures. According to Interfax, this is stated in the message of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This is due to employee complaints about misconduct in the workplace. In addition, the company settled allegations of violating whistleblower protection rules.
In 2018-2021, Activision Blizzard lacked controls and procedures to collect and analyze employee complaints of workplace misconduct, according to the SEC filing. As a result, the company’s management did not receive enough information to understand the scope and nature of employee complaints about harassment. As a result, it was unable to assess whether there were any material issues that would require public disclosure.
“Activision Blizzard has not put in place the necessary controls to collect and address employee complaints of workplace misconduct, leaving it without the means to determine if there are more serious issues to report to investors,” said Jason Burt, director of the SEC’s Denver regional office. .
In addition, the company took steps “to prevent former employees from communicating directly with the SEC about a possible violation of the securities laws, which is not only bad corporate governance, but also illegal,” he said.
Activision Blizzard agreed to pay the fine without acknowledging or rebutting the SEC’s findings.
As reported, at the end of 2021, a scandal erupted due to the fact that the company’s management did not respond to numerous complaints from employees about sexual harassment and discrimination. There have been reports in the US media that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick failed to inform the board of directors of several complaints of sexual harassment by male employees against women.
Source: Rosbalt
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