Niantic - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Niantic is Medium Risk.

Niantic is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Niantic occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Niantic has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Niantic does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Niantic offers anti-racism and anti-bias training to its employees (1). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Niantic opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (1)(2). The company supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Council (3). Niantic received the Gay Gaming Professionals (GGP) Honors award in 2021, indicating its commitment to DEI in its business practices (4)(5). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Niantic using its reputation to advance ideological causes or policies (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Niantic funded Monumental Reckoning, an art display around the empty plinth of the Francis Scott Key statue in the Golden Gate Concourse meant to oppose “white supremacy” (1)(2). The company donated $100,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, a black LGBTQ activist group (3)(4). In 2020, Niantic participated in a business coalition for marriage equality, a coalition in Japan advocating for same-sex marriage. The company also donated $7,000,000 to Black nonprofits, including the AACSA, Geeking out Kids of Color, the Advancement Project, the Aude Lorde Project, the Equity Alliance, and the US Black Chambers of Commerce (5). Otherwise, Niantic has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Niantic does not operate a PAC at this time and has not reported on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).