Square Enix Creates New Policy To Protect Employees From Toxic Fans

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Summary

  • Square Enix has implemented an anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners.
  • The policy outlines what constitutes harassment, including threats of violence and defamation.
  • Square Enix reserves the right to deny services and take legal action against harassers.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’m excited to share that Square Enix, a company I admire, has unveiled a robust new anti-harassment policy. This policy is designed with the utmost care to safeguard their employees and partners. In their guidelines, they’ve clearly defined what actions are considered harassment. Furthermore, they’ve outlined their firm response strategy should such behavior be observed from their valued customers.

These days, with the widespread use of the internet for connectivity, regrettably it’s not uncommon for members of the gaming industry to face threats and harassment. This isn’t exclusive to Square Enix; there have been instances such as death threats towards the actress depicting Abby in The Last of Us 2, and Nintendo had to cancel a live event due to violent threats from an alleged Splatoon fan. Now, Square Enix is making efforts to shield its team members from such harmful actions.

On their official website, Square Enix clearly communicates their commitment to protecting all employees and partners, ranging from support staff to executives, from any form of harassment. While they value feedback from their fans and customers, they firmly denounce any harassing behavior towards them. The policy clarifies what constitutes harassment according to Square Enix’s standards, as well as how they will respond should such instances occur.

According to Square Enix, actions like making threats, spreading false information, interfering with business operations, trespassing, and similar behaviors are considered harassment. The guidelines clearly state what kind of customer feedback Square Enix views as unacceptable. If such behavior is detected, Square Enix retains the ability to restrict services for those customers. In instances where there’s a clear intention to cause harm, the company might opt to safeguard its employees by taking legal action or reporting the matter to the police.

Square Enix Anti-Harassment Policy

Harassment:

  • Act of violence, violent behavior
  • Abusive language, intimidation, coercion, duress, excessive pursuit or reprimand
  • Defamation/slander, denial of personality, personal attack (including email, contact in contact form, comment or post on the internet), advance notice of wrongdoing, advance notice of obstruction of business
  • Persistent inquiries, repeated visits
  • Trespassing by visiting or staying in an office or related facility without permission
  • Unlawful restraint including via telephone calls and online inquiries
  • Discriminatory speech and conduct regarding race, ethnicity, religion, family origin, occupation, etc.
  • Infringement of privacy by taking pictures or making video recordings without consent
  • Sexual harassment, stalking, repeated stalking behavior

Undue demand:

  • Unreasonable changes or exchange of product or request for monetary compensation
  • Unreasonable response or request for an apology (including face-to-face response or request for an apology specifying the position of our employee or partners)
  • Excessive requests for the provision of products and services exceeding socially accepted norms
  • Unreasonable and excessive demands for punishment of our employees

It seems that situations like these have unfortunately become essential for companies such as Square Enix, given the increasing number of aggressive and menacing messages directed towards game developers, voice actors, and performers. For instance, Sena Bryer, the voice actor for Wuk Lamat in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail, faced intense backlash from transphobic online communities due to her gender identity.

In the past, Square Enix has been confronted with severe threats, such as death threats against its staff, which peaked in 2018. One such threat related to Square Enix’s gacha mechanics led to an arrest in 2019. The company also had to cancel a tournament in 2019 due to similar threatening situations, much like the ones recently experienced by Nintendo.

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2025-01-11 02:44