Sony doesn’t want you to know that it’s donating $100K for reproductive rights

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Ted Price, the CEO of Insomniac Games, sent an internal email on May 13th stating that the company would donate $50,000 to the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project. Sony will match the donation for a total of $100,000, and employees of Insomniac can make donations through the Sony Cares program. Sony is working on plans to provide financial assistance to employees who may have to travel to other states to receive abortions and other reproductive care, according to The Washington Post.

There is a major flaw to this news. The Washington Post reports that neither Insomniac Games nor Sony will be making public their donations. The Post writes that Insomniac employees have been forbidden from mentioning Insomniac or Sony if they decide to retweet any announcements from the WRRAP.

The donations come a week after Jim Ryan sent an email to staff that was tone-deaf in its response to the recent news that the case may be overturned. He stated in the email that employees should respect differences of opinion and that he enjoys dogs. This email did the opposite of providing assurance during an especially turbulent time, for employees who wanted the company to take a pro-choice stance.

It is likely that the large amount of red tape being wound around the topic of reproductive rights isn't sitting well with some employees. Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, wrote in an email to staff that Sony will not approve any statements from any studio on the topic of reproductive rights. We fought hard for this, but we didn't win.

There would be material repercussions for us as a wholly owned subsidiary, and the company would probably be severely restricted from, if Insomniac employees chose to use their social media accounts to announce their donation.