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For Immediate Release
July, 25 2016, 10:00am EDT
Contact:
Josh Golin (617-896-9369, josh@commercialfreechildhood.org
CCFC to Niantic: Don't Use Pokemon GO to Lure Children to Sponsors' Locations
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) is calling on Niantic, Inc., the producers of Pokemon GO, to protect children who play the popular new game from commercial exploitation. In a petition launched today, CCFC urged Niantic to not lure children under thirteen to visit sponsored "PokeStops" and "Pokemon Gyms," or deliver to them any targeted advertisements based on their location.
BOSTON
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) is calling on Niantic, Inc., the producers of Pokemon GO, to protect children who play the popular new game from commercial exploitation. In a petition launched today, CCFC urged Niantic to not lure children under thirteen to visit sponsored "PokeStops" and "Pokemon Gyms," or deliver to them any targeted advertisements based on their location.
Pokemon GO is a location-based augmented reality (AR) game which requires players to visit specific real world places--called "PokeStops" and "Pokemon Gyms"--in order to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures. Niantic says Pokemon GO encourages players to "Get Up, Get Out, and Explore." But Niantic is selecting some PokeStops and Gyms based on paid sponsorships, using the game's incredible appeal to entice customers to brick and mortar establishments, and McDonald's is one of the first sponsors. In Japan, every McDonald's is already a Pokemon GO hot spot. Once children playing the game arrive at the restaurant, they're enticed to buy Happy Meals with Pokemon GO toys.
"No child should be lured to McDonald's or any other sponsor's establishment while playing Pokemon GO," said Josh Golin, Executive Director of CCFC. "If Niantic wants to cash in on the game's enormous popularity by herding players to its sponsors' locations, it should exclude children from this type of marketing."
Added Angela J. Campbell, Georgetown Law Professor and CCFC Board Member, "It is the height of hypocrisy for Niantic to tout Pokemon GO as a means to get children outside, then use the game to sell Happy Meals."
Pokemon GO collects a wealth of data about its players, including their geolocation, as they play the game. CCFC is also urging Niantic to refrain from delivering any personalized ads to children based on this data. Because all players are required to provide their birthdate at sign-up, Niantic can easily identify and protect players under 13.
In addition to advertising concerns, advocates and experts have noted that Pokemon GO presents a host of threats to users' safety and privacy, particularly for younger players. "This is a watershed moment not only for Pokemon GO, but for the burgeoning augmented reality industry," said Golin. "Will Niantic take the precautions necessary to make Pokemon GO a safe environment for children? Or will AR just be another gimmick to make kids 'Get up, get out, and go to McDonald's?'"
Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time.
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"All signs point to the Pentagon developing 'killer robots' via Replicator, despite deflections from Pentagon representatives themselves," according to Public Citizen.
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A report from the government watchdog Public Citizen released Friday gives the who, what, when, where, and why of the Pentagon's flagship Replicator initiative—a program to increase the number of weapons, particularly drones, in the hands of the U.S. military.
In the report, Public Citizen re-ups concerns about one particular aspect of the program. According to the report's author, Savannah Wooten, the Defense Department has remained ambiguous on the question of whether it is developing artificial intelligence weapons that can "deploy lethal force autonomously—without a human authorizing the specific use of force in a specific context." These types of weapons are also known as "killer robots."
"It is not yet clear whether or not these technologies are designed, tested, or intended for killing," according to the report.
"All signs point to the Pentagon developing 'killer robots' via Replicator, despite deflections from Pentagon representatives themselves," wrote Wooten in the summary of the report.
The program, which was announced last year, is part of the Department of Defense's plan to deter China.
"Replicator is meant to help us overcome [China's] biggest advantage, which is mass. More ships. More missiles. More people," said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks in a speech announcing the project last year. That mission will be achieved specifically by "mastering the technology of tomorrow," Hicks said.
There will soon be a "Replicator 2.0" that will focus on counter-drone technologies—per a memo from the defense secretary released in September—according to Public Citizen's report.
In a letter sent in March, Public Citizen and 13 other civil society groups highlighted remarks Hicks made in 2023 as an example of the ambiguity the Pentagon has created around the issue.
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Wooten's report reiterates that same call: "The Pentagon owes Americans clarity about its own role in advancing the autonomous weapons arms race via Replicator, as well as a detailed plan for ensuring it does not open a Pandora’s Box of new, lethal weapons on the world by refusing to hold its own operations accountable."
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The fear that these types of weapons would open a Pandora's Box—and set off a "reckless, dangerous arms race," as Public Citizen warned of Friday—is not new. Back in 2017, dozens of artificial intelligence and robotics experts published a letter urging the United Nations to ban the development and use of so-called killer robots. As drone warfare has grown, those calls have continued.
The report also highlights the public statements of the head of one defense contractor that has been selected to produce for the Replicator initiative as a hint that the program is aimed at creating weapons that are capable of autonomous lethal force.
In early October, CEO of Anduril Palmer Luckey said that, "societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims."
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Parents, teachers, and other critics of Christian nationalism were outraged by a Texas board's Friday vote to approve a "Bible-infused" curriculum for elementary school students—part of a broader right-wing push to force Christianity into public education.
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Like a preliminary vote Tuesday, eight of the SBOE's 15 members voted to approve Bluebonnet Learning, instructional materials proposed by the Texas Education Agency. Three Republicans joined all four Democrats in opposing the curriculum. The deciding vote in favor of it was cast by Leslie Recine, a Republican recently appointed by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat.
"In a state as diverse as Texas, home to millions of people from countless faiths and beliefs, the Texas Republicans on the State Board of Education voted to incorporate Biblical teachings into the state curriculum—completely undermining religious freedom," said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa in a statement after the final vote.
"This move has ultimately violated parents' rights to guide their children's faith while presenting teachers with additional needless challenges," Hinojosa argued. "Our public schools should be focused on equipping students with the education and skills they need to succeed beyond grade school whether it's pursuing a higher education or entering the workforce. The teaching of religious doctrine should stay in our places of worship where it belongs."
Although the curriculum isn't required, The Texas Tribunereported, "the state will offer an incentive of $60 per student to districts that adopt the lessons, which could appeal to some as schools struggle financially after several years without a significant raise in state funding."
"Christian nationalists have bought their way into every governing body of the state, including the SBOE. And they will not stop with inserting Biblical content in English textbooks."
Bluebonnet Learning features lessons from Christianity in reading and language arts materials for kindergarten through fifth grade.
"This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories," Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, toldThe Associated Press. Children who would read the material, she said, "are simply too young to tell the difference between what is a faith claim and what is a matter of fact."
Zeph Capo, president of the Texas arm of the American Federation of Teachers, urged districts "to resist the dollars dangled before them and refuse to use Bluebonnet Learning materials," arguing that they violate the code of ethics for the state's educators and "the separation of church and state by infusing lessons with Bible-based references more appropriate for Sunday Schools than public schools."
"Moreover, they are assaults on the academic freedom of our classrooms and the sanctity of the teaching profession," he said in a Friday statement. "We have a duty as teachers to make our teaching and learning materials accessible and inclusive of all students in our classrooms. These prescriptive materials cannot meet all learners in all contexts; in fact, they make no effort to do so."
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The curriculum push coincides with an SBOE effort to restrict library materials. The ACLU of Texas said on social media that "the same politicians censoring what students can read now want to impose state-sponsored religion onto our public schools."
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Parham said McMahon's nomination signals "a calculated agenda to dismantle the protections afforded by Title IX."
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