Letter to Activision Blizzard October 18, 2019
Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20510
October 18, 2019
Robert A. Kotick
Chief Executive Office
Activision Blizzard
3100 Ocean Park Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90405
Dear Mr. Kotick:
We write to express our deep concern about Activision Blizzard's decision to make player Ng Wai Chung forfeit prize money and ban him from participating in tournaments for a year after he voiced support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. This decision is particularly concerning in light of the Chinese government's growing appetite for pressuring American businesses to help stifle free speech.
Activision Blizzard benefits from China's growing market for e-sports, along with an investment from Tencent, one of China's largest technology firms. As you and your company are no doubt aware, the Chinese government uses the size and strength of its economy to suppress opinions with which it disagrees. Last week alone, the Chinese government targeted Apple for hosting an app to help peaceful demonstrators evade repression and the National Basketball Association because one team's general manager tweeted in support of Hong Kong protests.
Your company claims to stand by "one's right to express individual thoughts and opinions," yet many of your own employees believe that Activision Blizzard's decision to punish Mr. Chung runs counter to those values. Because your company is such a pillar of the gaming industry, your disappointing decision could have a chilling effect on gamers who seek to use their platform to promote human rights and basic freedoms. Indeed, many gamers around the world have taken notice of your company's actions, understandably calling for boycotts of Activision Blizzard gaming sites.
As China amplifies its campaign of intimidation, you and your company must decide whether to look beyond the bottom line and promote American values-like freedom of speech and thought or to give in to Beijing's demands in order to preserve market access. We urge you in the strongest terms to reconsider your decision with respect to Mr. Chung. You have the opportunity to reverse course. We urge you to take it.
Sincerely,
Ron Wyden
United States Senator
Marco Rubio
United States Senator
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Member of Congress
Mike Gallagher
Member of Congress
Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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