Iran becomes first country to stop Pokemon Go

The country's High Council of Virtual Spaces is worried over the game's "security concerns."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: AUGUST 7, 2016 21:00
The augmented reality mobile game "Pokemon Go" by Nintendo (photo credit: REUTERS)
The augmented reality mobile game "Pokemon Go" by Nintendo
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Iran has become the first country to ban popular smartphone game Pokemon Go, citing "security concerns."
Officials from the country's High Council of Virtual Spaces began contemplating a ban last month, according to the BBC on Friday, but wanted to see if the game's creators would agree to fix the unspecified security issues.
Though this is the game's first national ban, Pokemon Go has received its share of criticism. Players have been asked to refrain from the game while at sensitive places such as Auschwitz and the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC
On July 20, Saudi Arabia's top clerical body renewed a 15-year-old edict that the Pokemon game franchise is un-Islamic.
Meanwhile, the IDF banned the game from all military bases out of fears that "sensitive military information, such as photographs and base locations,” could be inadvertently leaked.
The game has caused players to become distracted and therefore placed in harm's way. In the latest example, a 17-year-old boy from Ashdod nearly drowning while trying to catch a character in the game.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.