Sega has taken legal action against an individual who used social media to repeatedly slander and harass a Sega employee, with the case now reportedly settled for an undisclosed sum. Per Sega, the individual in question allegedly made continuously offensive remarks, and took part in “extreme acts of harassment,” which forced the company to take serious action.
As detailed in a notice filed to the company website, Sega needed to step in to protect its employee, as while there had been an attempt to address harassing behaviour by an individual, this behaviour did not stop. As such, Sega approached its local court with a request to identify the individual in question, and forced them to take account for their actions.
As in most countries, harassment and slander is illegal in Japan. Freedom of speech does not give people the right to infringe on the rights of others. For their actions, the individual in question has been made to pay damages to the Sega employee allegedly harassed, they must delete their insulting comments, and they must refrain from making future comments of the same nature.
“We consider slanderous acts against employees, such as announcements of violent acts, threats, and intimidation, to be serious human rights issues that damage the dignity of employees and lead to a deterioration of the work environment,” Sega said (via Google translation).
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“We do not tolerate any harassing behaviour, and in order to respect all employees and protect their human rights, we will continue to take appropriate action based on our Customer Harassment Policy when we judge any behaviour to be malicious.”
Sega’s actions are a firm statement for those who spread toxicity online. In recent years, the atmosphere of social media has grown incredibly tense, with louder and more volatile voices feeling empowered to harass game developers and journalists for perceived grievances. In taking one of these voices to account, Sega has sent a clear message that it will not tolerate employees being harassed in this manner.
Should certain people feel the need to express their opinions online, there should be a reasonable tone struck. Even with the relative “anonymity” of social media, nobody should feel safe to target individuals with harassment, slander, or threats. As Sega makes clear, anonymity is not a guise at all – and those who continuously violate the law with their social media messages will be found and held to account.
