While "Pokemon Go" continues to roll out in various countries around the world, Iran is apparently not a fan of the hit mobile game. Authorities in the middle-eastern nation recently banned "Pokemon Go" due to unspecified security reasons. The High Council of Virtual Spaces, the official Iranian group that monitors online activity, ultimately decided that the game was prone to certain national security risks.
BBC reported that Iran would be the first country in the world to ban "Pokemon Go" nationwide. In the past month, authorities in Iran were observing how well Niantic would cooperate with them until they finally decided to put an end to the game in their area completely. Several other countries have been expressing their concerns over the dangers that "Pokemon Go" came with, such as people trespassing and playing while driving.
In Indonesia, police officers were banned from playing "Pokemon Go" while on duty. In New York State, about 3,000 registered sex offenders were prevented from playing the game while on parole. Government officials in New York were particularly worried that children may not be safe, since the game encourages them to wander to various remote locations to unlock in-game bonuses and benefits.
In Singapore, officials are also observing how "Pokemon Go" may affect the daily lives of people. Yaacob Ibrahim, minister for communications and information in Singapore, stated that if they find anything from "Pokemon Go" that needs to be addressed, the Media Development Authority (MDA) will exercise the appropriate measures that will benefit both players, non-players and the government.
PCMag revealed that Iranian authorities have yet to indicate the specific reasons why they deemed "Pokemon Go" as a security concern. Some speculate that "Pokemon Go" can encourage law offenders to wait at Pokestops for unsuspecting players. Trespassing and road dangers are also other possible reasons why the country decided to ban the mobile game. Iranian authorities also want to keep huge groups of people from gathering in the same area for a long time, making them susceptible to various types of criminal activity.