| Nem said: Can companies even make that kind of contract? Did he reveal any sort of secrets or something? Something is wrong if companies have the power to veto freedom of speech. Has got to be inconstituonal. Leaking company secrets is one thing, but simply talking in public is a right of every citizen. |
Freedom of speech does not apply in private organisations, when you join a school or a company you are effectively agreeing to abide by their rules no matter how unfair, provide they within the bounds of the law. If he had spoken in general public about his opinions and didn't identify as an employee of Nintendo he might have been protected by freedom of speech but not in this instance, a professional forum where he was identified as a representative of the organisation, no chance.
I'm suprised by how naive some people are being in this thread, 'just give him a warning', 'Nintendo are being dicks'. If you work for a big company with a name and brand reputation that they work hard to protect, this kind of contractual clause is standard, at least where I live. It doesn't matter if you leak information or simply say something that is at odds with company philosophy, they have the right to terminate your employement. If you work for that kind of company they generally make the rules clear from day 1.
