Sad that this has to be a consideration.
Authorities in New York state will implement a ban on paroled sex offenders playing Pokemon Go after growing concerns that some could be using the augmented reality game to lure young victims.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has instructed that 3,000 people in the state will be barred from accessing Niantic Labs’ massively popular app, and more could follow.
The BBC report that the developer has been asked to assist with the new state policy by cross-referencing their user base with the list of registered sex offenders.
We also issued a letter to Niantic, Inc. requesting cooperation in barring sex offenders from playing Pokémon GO: https://t.co/WpL19oEswq
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 1, 2016
It has also been requested that Niantic remove any Pokestop or gym locations that currently sit near an offender’s home, with Senator Jeff Klein recommending that no Pokemon or in-game item should show up on a device’s GPS if it’s within 100ft (30m) of an at-risk area.
At present, Niantic’s website states that users must be 13 years-of-age or older in order to play its game, as well as complying with any applicable laws.
In a statment, Cuomo said:
“Protecting New York’s children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don’t become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims. These actions will provide safeguards for the players of these augmented reality games and help take one more tool away from those seeking to do harm to our children.”
