Democratic Reps Probe Niantic on Pokémon Go Data Usage

Democratic Reps asked the the company that makes hit game "Pokemon Go" what they were doing to make sure players don’t run up high mobile data charges using the application. The letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke was signed by the House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), as well as Reps Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Diana DeGette (D-CO).

"In addition to issues related to the game being played inappropriate locations, safety, and privacy, recent reports suggest that playing Pokemon Go could exhaust a consumer’s available monthly mobile data,” they wrote. The lawmakers specifically asked the company what practices it had in place “to minimize the amount of data consumers use when playing" the game and whether the company was working with wireless providers to make sure that customers aren’t running up huge data bills. The letter comes despite the fact that some have argued the program does not use up particularly large amounts of wireless data.