Advocacy Group Wants Pokemon Go Developer to Improve Kids' Privacy, Security, Safety

Common Sense wants the creator of the popular Pokemon Go mobile game to improve the privacy of kids' data and their physical safety. In a letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke, the group said developers paid "scant attention" to privacy and security when the company asked iOS users who registered through Google for full permission to that account. The company last week acknowledged the mistake, saying that was not the intention and it fixed the issue (see 1607150014). "These issues are so significant that it appears that, during the game's development, the desire to score a big and lucrative hit outweighed considerations of the privacy, security, and physical safety of users, in particular the many users who are children," said the letter, signed by Common Sense CEO James Steyer. He asked Niantic to take several steps, including getting "informed and meaningful consent from parents" that clearly delineates in-app purchases from items that can be purchased with game currency. Steyer also said the company should put in place a "data sunset on storing location data collected from children and teens" and not use location data to target ads or build children's profiles, among other steps. The letter was copied to members of the Senate and House Commerce committees and individual senators including Al Franken, D-Minn., who also had raised privacy concerns (see 1607120072). An email to Niantic seeking a comment was not immediately answered.