It's an implementation of a private API, not a bot, though a number of bots have made use of it. I agree with TPC that these bots are no good for the game, and that TPC (and Niantic) have an interest in blocking them -- by technical means at the very least. The CFAA is considerably more problematic.
Either way, it would be possible for them to do this by blocking the "write" functionality of the API without shutting down the "read" functionality as well. As of this week, they've attempted to shut down both.
It's here that I suspect they're doomed to failure, as a practical matter if nothing else. With the official removal of the tracking feature that worked only briefly at launch, millions of players (including myself) have found the searching elements of the game to be roughly akin to stumbling around in the dark. Enough of these players have found their interest revitalized by the mapping features which the API makes possible that this is looking like the opening salvo of a long and tedious arms race.
In the meantime, yes: shutting down API will be a blow to the bots -- though it will have no effect on GPS spoofing, which is a much bigger problem for competitive gameplay than tracking could ever be.
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It's an implementation of a private API, not a bot, though a number of bots have made use of it. I agree with TPC that these bots are no good for the game, and that TPC (and Niantic) have an interest in blocking them -- by technical means at the very least. The CFAA is considerably more problematic.
Either way, it would be possible for them to do this by blocking the "write" functionality of the API without shutting down the "read" functionality as well. As of this week, they've attempted to shut down both.
It's here that I suspect they're doomed to failure, as a practical matter if nothing else. With the official removal of the tracking feature that worked only briefly at launch, millions of players (including myself) have found the searching elements of the game to be roughly akin to stumbling around in the dark. Enough of these players have found their interest revitalized by the mapping features which the API makes possible that this is looking like the opening salvo of a long and tedious arms race.
In the meantime, yes: shutting down API will be a blow to the bots -- though it will have no effect on GPS spoofing, which is a much bigger problem for competitive gameplay than tracking could ever be.