On January 10th, Square Enix rolled out its latest “group customer harassment policy,” detailing how it plans to deal with customers who exhibit abusive behavior. This includes the possibility of legal action against individuals who target their staff.
According to the policy, if someone crosses the line by engaging in behavior that isn’t socially acceptable or causes harm to Square Enix’s employees or partners, the company may choose to stop offering support services or deny access to its products. Furthermore, in severe cases or when the intent is clearly malicious, Square Enix won’t hesitate to take legal steps or even pursue criminal charges after consulting with law enforcement and legal experts.
The policy further defines what constitutes harmful behavior, splitting it into two main categories: harassment and undue demands. Harassment covers any violent actions, abusive or intimidating language, and discriminatory remarks. On the other hand, undue demands refer to unreasonable requests for compensation or excessive demands for punishing employees.
If you’ve been browsing the internet lately, especially within gaming community circles, this move by Square Enix shouldn’t be all that surprising. Take, for instance, the recent plea from Final Fantasy 14 producer Naoki Yoshida, who had to ask players to cease their transphobic harassment towards English voice actor Sena Bryer, stemming from her role as Wuk Lamat in the Dawntrail expansion.
This policy isn’t just an isolated initiative by Square Enix. It reflects a broader trend within Japanese society to combat the growing issue of customer harassment. As highlighted by The Japan Times, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare issued a report in December 2024 pushing for laws that would obligate companies to shield their employees from inappropriate and harmful customer behavior.
Several other Japanese companies, including Sega, Level-5, and Rakuten, have introduced similar guidelines recently. Sega, for example, took legal action against an individual for online slander and harassment of one of their employees, leading to a court mandate in July 2024 requiring the offender to pay compensation. In 2023, a Washington court awarded nearly $500,000 in damages to Bungie following harassment of a Destiny 2 community manager. These cases could indeed set significant benchmarks for handling such situations in the future.
