Supercell—Supercell CEO publicly lobbied EU to weaken Digital Fairness Act loot-box and in-game currency rules
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen published an open letter urging Brussels not to 'kill one of Europe's few tech success stories,' warning that incorporating consumer-protection guidance on in-game currencies into the EU's planned Digital Fairness Act could make free-to-play mobile games 'unplayable' in the EU. The intervention came amid a broader industry lobbying campaign, revealed by investigative outlet Follow the Money, in which gaming and tech companies made up roughly 83% of nearly 100 European Commission meetings on the draft law since late 2024, far outweighing consumer and child-safety advocates.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Regulatory Capture | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Follow the Money: Supercell CEO's open letter was part of 83%-industry-dominated lobbying push against EU Digital Fairness Act
Investigative outlet Follow the Money reported that Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen published an open letter warning the EU against rules on in-game currencies, as part of a lobbying campaign in which gaming and tech firms made up about 83% of nearly 100 European Commission meetings on the draft Digital Fairness Act since December 2024, versus under 14% for consumer/NGO groups.