Bobby Kotick—Activision Blizzard paid $35M SEC settlement for failing to disclose workplace misconduct to investors
In February 2023, Activision Blizzard agreed to pay $35 million to settle an SEC investigation into the company's failure to properly disclose workplace misconduct information to investors. The SEC found that Activision required departing employees who signed separation agreements to notify the company if regulators contacted them, violating federal whistleblower protections. The SEC had subpoenaed documents from Kotick and senior executives, including board meeting minutes and Kotick's communications about harassment complaints.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Corporate Transparency | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.332 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (1 signal)
SEC settlement confirmed Activision Blizzard failed to disclose workplace misconduct and violated whistleblower protections
Activision Blizzard agreed to pay $35 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to properly disclose workplace misconduct to investors. The SEC found the company required departing employees to notify it if regulators contacted them, violating federal whistleblower protections.