China is not allowing Pokémon GO due to safety measures
Niantic’s Pokémon GO never became available in China since its launch last summer and the reason for that is apparently the potential security risks that the Chinese state censor is foreseeing.
According to Reuters, Pokémon GO won’t be licensed in China until the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television evaluates the dangers of the augmented reality game in which players capture fictional creatures in the real world using a smartphone.
And they have reason to worry. Since Pokémon GO came out there has been a lot of news about car crashings, dead body findings and some types of crime related to it. Additionally, the censor is preoccupied about the implementation of Google Maps in order to track a player’s position, which is blocked in China.
When asked about this situation, a representative of Niantic told Kotaku that they are “focused elsewhere at the moment”. So it doesn’t seem like Niantic is obsessed about not being able to implement Pokémon GO in China.
