US Senators Voice Concerns Over EA Deal Due to 'Foreign Influence and National Security Risks' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 October 2025 / 3,076 Views
Two United States Senators - Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren - have released a letter sent to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent voicing concerns over the Electronic Arts deal. Bessent is also the chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.
It was announced last month the video game publisher and developer would be acquired and taken private in a $55 billion deal by an investor consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, which is founded and led by Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It needs approval by regulators and EA stockholders.
"We write with profound concern about the foreign influence and national security risks posed by the potential acquisition of American video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. (Silver Lake), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners," reads the letter to Bessent.
The two Senators have urged Bennet and the Committee "to apply searching scrutiny to this unprecedented, proposed foreign privatization of a major American technology and entertainment company." They also request the Committee to "ensure that the national security risks arising from the proposed acquisition may be mitigated."
The Senators added, "Saudi Arabia’s desire to buy influence through the acquisition of EA is apparent on the face of the transaction—the investors propose to pay more than $10 billion above EA’s trading value for a company whose stock has 'stagnated for half a decade' in an unpredictably volatile industry.
"Moreover, the PIF’s decision to partner with Trump family member Jared Kushner, whose firm previously received a $2 billion investment from the PIF over the objections of the PIF’s own investment screening board, raises troubling questions about whether Mr. Kushner is involved in the transaction solely to ensure the federal government’s approval of the transaction.
"Given the proposed transaction’s termination fee contingencies, the three investors appear to be betting $1 billion that Mr. Kushner can deliver the Trump Administration’s appear to be betting $1 billion that Mr. Kushner can deliver the Trump Administration’s regulatory approvals. Indeed, consistent with the Trump Administration’s unprecedented corruption and monetization of federal government power, 'What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?'"
The two US Senators have also sent a separate letter to EA CEO Andrew Wilson asking him to provide "information on how EA plans to continue to operate free of influence from an authoritarian government that has a history of using technology to retaliate against critics, engage in covert influence campaigns, and censor free expression."
Wilson has been asked to explain five things to the Senators and Congress due to multiple concerns:
- How will EA ensure that the personal information of American customers of EA will not be misused by the PIF or the government of Saudi Arabia?
- How will EA’s management respond to a demand from the PIF or the Saudi government for customer’s personal information?
- How will EA ensure that the company’s AI research and work product will not be exploited to further the objectives of the Saudi government?
- Explain why EA’s customers should have confidence that they will not be targets of Saudi covert propaganda or other influence when they interact with EA’s video games, and how EA will ensure that the PIF or the government of Saudi Arabia is not able to influence or dictate the content or narratives of EA’s games.
- Explain in detail whether any employee or agent of EA will have to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act after the acquisition is completed.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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They're right to be concerned. Can't trust Saudi Arabia or Jared Kushner.
Surely, Saudi Arabia doesn't have any other new or longstanding investments anywhere else in the US economy to evaluate. Only this deal with Electronic Arts merits scrutiny.
But it's ok for satanic$oft who dodge tax and a monopoly of theft to buy Activision? Ok...
They need to block it because jared buying it will mean the right will own all media, they already gone after mainstream Americans news and paramount, so they will have news, movies, tv shows and then gaming
Propaganda in games is a western thing, and as it didn't seem to be a problem for them before, why should it be now?
Not a fan of this deal but how exactly does it threaten national security?
Their Battlefield is a video game, not an actual military one.
Personal information can be used to e.g. blackmail people, especially if the involved people have done something dubious enough. While personal information in EA's systems is probably not likely to be valuable on its own, it might be possible to connect it to some compromising information from other sources. If any of those compromised people are working in critical government jobs, for example, I think you can see the issue.
As for point 3, the objectives of the Saudi government might contradict US interests. I'm not sure how much damage the cited 'AI research and work product' can cause to the US, but as a concern, it sounds like a valid one to me.
