In the latest twist in the ongoing feud between the Pokémon Go community and the app's creators, The Pokémon Company has sent out at least one cease and desist letter to an independent developer threatening persecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The letter, sent to GitHub user Mila432 and reposted online, contains a detailed breakdown of how the developer violated Pokémon Go's terms of service with a reverse-engineered application programming interface (API). It also says the developer may be subject to legal action if he or she does not comply with the company's demands.
"Your actions ... potentially violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a statute that prohibits the unauthorized access of servers and access which exceeds authorization as well as similar state statues," the letter reads. "And your inducement of others to violate numerous terms of service provisions violates the CFAA." It's unclear if The Pokémon Company could actually bring a CFAA lawsuit against someone for breaking the terms of service in this case when there is no material harm done. But it's certainly not the most outlandish use of the law.
Mika432 reverse engineered and released a 'Pokémon Go' API that could be used to develop bots
Mila432's API, released online over at code repository GitHub was designed to automat Pokémon Go play. It allows any third-party developer to create bots that could play the game without user input by effectively simulating the software and communicating with the game's servers. The Pokémon Company says this API violates the Pokémon terms of use, which governs the use of the Pokémon Trainer Club account system for logging into the game. It also allegedly violates the Pokémon Go terms of service, which dictate how users interact with the game, its servers, and any data involved in the communication between the two.
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