US senators raise national security concerns over $55bn Electronic Arts buyout

• The $55bn deal would take Electronic Arts private under a Saudi-led consortium.
• EA’s massive player data could expose Americans to surveillance and propaganda.
• Lack of SEC oversight could let PIF operate EA with little transparency.
• Senators demand answers on AI access and data protection. 

US senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren have raised concerns over Saudi Arabia’s role in the leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts. 

In two separate letters sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and EA CEO Andrew Wilson, the senators cautioned against the $55 billion deal that would take EA private, citing potential foreign influence and national security risks.

“The proposed transaction poses a number of significant foreign influences and national security risks, beginning with the PIF’s reputation as a strategic arm of the Saudi government," the senators wrote. 

The senators argued that Saudi Arabia’s PIF uses its investments in sectors like sports and video games to gain global influence rather than financial returns, warning that the proposed EA buyout exemplifies this strategy.

Data breach concerns

The senators also warned that Saudi Arabia's control over Electronic Arts could give the kingdom access to sensitive user data, posing national security and privacy risks if influenced by an authoritarian government. 

“With a global user base of at least 700 million that spent over 13 billion hours playing its games in 2024 alone, EA has ‘insight into its consumers, their relationships, and their daily lives... allowing EA to influence its consumers’ perceptions and desires," the letter read. 

Furthermore, the senators warned that without oversight from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Saudi Arabia's PIF could use EA’s privatisation to obscure its activities and exert unchecked control over the company. 

They cautioned that this lack of SEC transparency could allow the PIF to influence EA’s creative and product decisions, advancing Saudi interests and shaping cultural narratives through games. 

Calls for deeper scrutiny

The senators urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to fully investigate the national security and foreign influence risks of the PIF’s proposed acquisition of EA and make its findings public. 

They also asked CFIUS to explain how it will prevent Saudi Arabia’s PIF from misusing the personal data of American EA users and how it will restrict foreign access to sensitive technologies, particularly AI. 

In the letter sent to Wilson, the senators asked the company to explain how it will protect user data, AI research, and creative independence if acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. 

They requested detailed assurances that the PIF or the Saudi government would not gain access to American users’ personal information or influence narratives of its games for propaganda purposes and asked whether any EA employees or representatives would be required to register as foreign agents following the acquisition. 

The senators requested a staff briefing and regular updates starting November 4th, 2025, to help Congress assess whether stronger CFIUS oversight laws are needed.