A Raticate, a character from Pokémon Go, in front of the gates of Downing St in London | Olivia Harris/Getty Images Pokémon Go game violates EU privacy laws: MEP Marc Tarabella condems use of personal data as ‘a game and a source of research or revenue.’

A member of the European Parliament is going head-to-head with Pokémon Go, the highly popular mobile gaming application.

Marc Tarabella, a Belgian Socialist MEP, is filing a request with the European Commission by the end of this week to launch an inquiry into the privacy practices of the game and to alert EU citizens to the dangers of the app.

"In their eyes, tracking personal data of people is clearly considered a game and a source of research or revenue," he said. "In Europe, the protection of privacy remains a fundamental right. We have to react, warn and strongly condemn these massive scams."

Pokémon Go is developed by Niantic, a spin-off of Google, which maintains an ownership stake.

Tarabella said the Pokémon Go application breaches EU law including the General Data Protection Regulation, which will be in place by May 2018, and its predecessor directive on the protection of personal data. The app also stores cookies and trackers on gamers' devices, potentially violating the EU's e-Privacy Directive.

An MEP can ask the Commission to investigate such violations, though it is not obliged to act.

But Tarabella said, "It would be abnormal if the Commission doesn't react. If we don't work to have businesses respect the directives, we have to stop putting energy into drafting them."

The MEP wants the Commission to develop a mechanism to alert EU countries if an application violates people's privacy. A similar alert system exists for dangerous products entering the EU's single market.