China Says No to 'Pokémon GO'

Eager hopefuls wanting to play Pokémon GO in China will be disappointed to hear that the country has banned the game. According to Reuters, the popular augmented-reality mobile app is not allowed to exist within its borders because of state censorship rules, citing that it is a “threat to geographical information security and the threat to transport and the personal safety of consumers.” The statement comes from the games panel of the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, which is also governed by the state censor.

Furthermore, China is quite careful with any type of technological threats. While Pokémon GO is “only” a game, the country is still paranoid about outsiders having access to geographical data. For example, Google Maps doesn’t work in the region so playing the game would practically be nearly impossible to begin with. As for the “personal safety of consumers” part of the statement, there’s been may reports of accidents happening due to people playing the location-based game. This reason is unlikely to be the senior cause of the ban, but probably just an added clause to heighten fears.

What are your thoughts on the ban? Sound off in the comments.