OpenSea - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

OpenSea is High Risk.

OpenSea is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. OpenSea embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	No Data
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	Medium 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:

High

Rationale:

In late 2021, OpenSea banned NFT’s by conservative-leaning webcomic creator StoneToss from the website, likely due to a mass of reports from users who did not align with his views (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

OpenSea does not publish charitable giving guidelines (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

OpenSea does not publish a nondiscrimination policy (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Although OpenSea has been willing to ban creators who align more closely with conservative politics, the company allows for the proliferation of creators and NFTs that engage in large-scale endorsement of organizations such as BLM and the ACLU (1)(2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using its reputation to advance ideological causes or policies (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

OpenSea provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2). The company stated, “We believe that access to safe and legal abortion is absolutely critical to keeping women and those with female assigned reproductive systems healthy and empowered to make their own choices about their future, and to pursue their missions and ambitions.” (3). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

OpenSea does not operate a PAC at this time but has not lobbied for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).