Letter to the Honorable John Hanke, Chief Executive Officer of Niantic, Inc., and Tsunekazu Ishihara, Chief Executive Officer of The Pokemon Company - Urge for "Pokémon Go" Developers to Remove "PokéStops' at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Letter

Mr. Hanke and Mr. Ishihara,

As members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, we write to you with concern about certain geographic markers within the new "Pokémon Go" mobile application. Specifically we are concerned that there are multiple PokéStops, which are intended to encourage players to use the application at certain geographic areas, located at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

We do not believe the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is an appropriate site to be encouraging people to play Pokémon Go. The museum is a living memorial and a place for visitors to learn about and reflect upon the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. It strives to encourage visitors to challenge bigotry and prejudice and to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

We should be encouraging visitors to visit the museum to spread the message of preventing future atrocities and genocide, not distracting from the museum's lessons in order to win a game. For these reasons we encourage you to remove the PokéStops from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

STEVE ISRAEL PATRICK MEEHAN TED DEUTCH

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Source