Sex offenders in New York are now forbidden from playing Pokemon Go

And more ‘fun’ facts

If you’re a sex offender in New York state, then you’re no longer allowed to enjoy Pokémon Go — not only because the step counter has been removed and you can no longer cheat, but because your governor says you can’t.

Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement on the plan, noting that “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.”

The ban applies to nearly 3,000 offenders currently on parole in the state, and Cuomo has even gone as far as having his people reach out to Pokémon Go developer Niantic, Apple, and Google to give them a list of registered sex offenders.

This decision comes after an “informal investigation” by senators that found 59 out of a sample of 100 sex offenders living in New York City lived within half a block of PokéStops. Some locations were even at sex offenders’ residences. One of the senators, Jeffrey D. Klein, called the game “a virtual road map to our children.” 

Concerns about predators using the in-game lure items to lure children to their residences were also noted by the governor’s office.

While I think this is a goodhearted move by the governor, if not a bit over protective, I also think there are far more certain dangers to tackle, like preventing 13-year-olds from easily buying guns.

New York Governor bans sex offenders from ‘Pokémon Go’ [Engadget]