German Consumer Association wants Niantic to adjust Pokémon Go conditions

The German Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, an association of consumer organizations, has pointed out to Niantic that parts of the Pokémon Go terms and conditions violate consumer and privacy protection rules. The organization does not rule out legal action.

In total, this concerns fifteen clauses from the conditions that infringe, the organization states in a press release. One of the points is that playing the game anonymously is not possible. Users must have a Google or Pokémon Trainer Club account. In addition, Niantic is able to change the agreement with the user or discontinue the service at any time. In addition, players can no longer get their purchases with real money back.

In addition, conflicts are governed by California law and users agree to a term that states that they cannot go to court but must have the dispute resolved through US arbitration. Users only have thirty days after creating an account to go to court via an opt-out.

In terms of privacy, Niantic transfers personal data to third parties, which according to the organization is in violation of German law. That is why Niantic now has until August 9 to adjust or no longer use the fifteen clauses in the conditions. If the company does not do this, the organization wants to start legal proceedings.

There are more organizations in Germany critical of Pokémon Go, writes the site Heise. One of the reasons for this is that the company would pass on user data unencrypted to parties such as Unity Technologies, Apteligent and Upsight. They would mainly earn their money by analyzing data for advertising purposes.