FAC Called it!!! Pokemon Go Legislation.
This past week’s FAC Weekly update was a “really/not really” satirical commentary about the Pokemon Go app and the media’s response to the smartphone game.
We wrote of the app, “What does this have to do with our movement? Absolutely nothing. So why are there all these articles coming out about the danger of Pokemon Go and Sex Offenders? Yesterday was an article entitled “When the ‘Pokemon Go’ Map and the Sex Offender Map Overlap” and another entitled, “‘Pokémon Go’ going where parents may not want it to” and last week, CBS news reported that, “sex offenders might use the app to lure children.”
Are you kidding me?!?! As far as I know sex offenders had zero involvement in the development of the app and while people have walked off cliffs, wandered into oncoming traffic and crossed international borders while playing the app, nobody has been molested by a sex offender. So why is this something people are worried about!?!?
Undoubtedly some legislator will soon be talking about how sex offenders are trying to “exploit” a “loophole” and we need to pass legislation. All the while, registered citizens and their families will be watching in disbelief as something else we have nothing to do with and has never been an actual danger is pitched by the media and politicians as more ‘sex offender scare’. How long until Ron Book, flanked by Pikachu and Super Mario will be screaming at legislators about the need for “The Nintendo Act” to “protect the children”?
Well… it didn’t take long for two New York state senators, Diane Savino (D-S.I.) and Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), to propose legislation preventing Sex Offenders from using the App. “While these characters are mainly bought to attract people to businesses, they could be used by sex offenders to lure children and other potential victims to their homes. Klein said, he wants a law that will prevent sexual offenders playing Pokémon Go or using any similar app that is likely to appear in the future.”
OH MY GOD!!! Are they for real?!? There have been ZERO reported instances of sex offenders using Pokemon Go to lure children. Why not pass a bill that domestic violence offenders can’t use butter knives because they might use them to stab someone, or that drug offenders not be able to purchase soft drinks because the soda cans can be used to smoke crack? How about a bill that prevents politicians from playing ‘Scrabble’ because it might force them to think?
they say there is an A-Hole born every second and it seems as here is an example of 2 wasted seconds
Sorry, as a pokefan, I gotta go grammar police on ya. It’s pokemon, not pokeman (short for POcKEt MONsters).
And yeah, what bunch of bull. I read the NY Times article and the two nimwits even state that nothing has happened involving pokemon GO and SOs. They’d be better off passing legislation that prevents drivers from using it while operating a motor vehicle or people from using it near a cliff…../smh
Edited – thanks!
Would you believe Governor Cuomo took it seriously and actually ordered the ban for probationers?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cuomo-orders-pokemon-no-go-sex-offenders-article-1.2733330
I do indeed believe it, sadly. Although I’m sure there must be more pressing issues on a state govenor’s to-do list.
What really irks me about this whole thing though is that nebulous clause that they love to put in “any similar app that is likely to appear in the future.” At the surface level only, this is hard to abide by, since it is such a subjective statement, but the deeper implications are terrifying. They are legislating a ban for a certain class of citizen on technology that hasn’t been created yet. I’ll let you creative thinkers carry that thought forward.
And just to broaden the net of your thinking, keep in mind that AR programs have been out for a few years already (Niantic ,the developer of PokemonGO, was hired because they already had experience developing an AR game. The infrastructure of PokemonGO was based on their work on that previous game), and is set to be a major tech trend, especially in light of the success of the pokemon game. They have now introduced the tech to a large enough audience that (sarcasm)people worry about sex offenders using it (/sarcasm) and that is just the first step towards ubiquity. Here is an article that has some ideas that you might not have considered for AR now that it is going mainstream:
https://www.brookings.edu/2016/07/22/why-pokemon-gos-technology-is-no-fad/
So it scares me deeply that legislators are wanting to ban registrants from things that don’t exist, especially when those things are anticipated to be as commonplace as facebook is today….oh wait, I can’t use that either, but at least they waited until it existed to ban me from it.
Just wanted to add an update. A USA Today article reports that Cuomo sent the order to the corrections department. Here is a quote:
“Cuomo’s order calls for the state corrections agency to install a new parole condition for sex offenders under state supervision to prohibit them ‘downloading, accessing, or otherwise engaging in any Internet enabled gaming activities, including Pokémon Go.'”
These days, that pretty much rules out video gaming of any sort for probationers in NY. Thankfully, this will make the world much safer for 35 yr old males, which are the largest consumers of video games, and obviously the most likely to be victimized by someone on the registry.
Speechless, I am. 😒 😥
Yeah and now Massachusetts is getting in on it – I knew it would be a domino scenario …
http://patch.com/massachusetts/beaconhill/bill-would-ban-massachusetts-sex-offenders-playing-pokmon-go
If we don’t do something about all this now, it will keep getting worse.We need to create some good strategies to counter this kind of “hate crimef”!!
We are. I strongly encourage you to become involved in FAC, Bruce.
I’m a parolee in Pennsylvania and my parole officer forced me to sign a document stating that I can’t play any online games, but he told me that sex offenders (plural) were using Pokemon Go to lure children. I don’t care about the game one way or another, but I used to use Xbox live. And it’s ridiculous that he uses lies to create a policy to reduce my enjoyment of life. I don’t use it to chat, just play games, but not anymore. How do we keep them honest and use evidence based research to create legislature instead of these bullshit policies with no reflection in real life, just the imagination of mentally insane politicians.
Sorry to say it; but lawsuits are the only solution.
It would take a very brave and honest politician who doesn’t pander for votes to do what’s right. They, unfortunately, don’t exist.