Children in the USA are being led to within yards of child abusers’ houses while playing the game Pokémon Go, in what was described by politicians as a “very dangerous” downside of the app.
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A second piece of law would address game makers – like Niantic Inc.in the case of Pokemon Go – to police themselves and cross check the national database of sex offenders and make sure pokestops do not coincide with those addresses. In other words, Pokemon Go could inadvertently give sexual predators easy access to new prey. “Unfortunately, Pokemon Go has opened up a door to sexual predators”.
There are almost 3,000 sex offenders now on parole in NY, the fourth most populous state in the United States.
Their investigation caught 57 Pokemon characters directly outside 100 homes of registered sex offenders on probation or parole whose crimes involved child abuse or possession of child pornography in the city of NY.
“And I think this is certainly a very unsafe potential downside”. The game also allows players to attract other users by offering so-called “lures”.
“The sites are done randomly by the company”, Klein said.
“While children believe they are out to catch a Pokemon, what might really be lurking could be a predator instead of a Pikachu”, Klein said, referring to a type of Pokemon creature.
“When we open the door to technology, in many cases it’s very, very good, but we always have to be very, very concerned about the potential downside”, Mr Klein said at a news conference, according to the New York Times.
In the “augmented reality” game, players hunt for virtual characters using real-life maps and locations.
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The state’s Department of Corrections and Community Services is making that a condition of supervised release from state prison for all sex offenders.
