Iran Bans Pokemon Go Over 'Security Concerns' (usatoday.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Iran has become the first country to ban Pokemon Go, the mobile game where users (aka Pokemon trainers) roam the physical world in search for digital creatures known as Pokemon. The country cites security concerns for the reason behind the ban. "Any game that wants to operate nationwide in Iran needs to obtain permission from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, and the Pokemon Go app has not yet requested such a permission," Abolhasan Firouzabadi, the head of Iran's supreme council of virtual space, told the Isna news agency. The Guardian reports that Iranian officials feel that the game can create problems for the country and its people. Iranian authorities use smart filtering software, a system that affects connectivity speeds and in many cases has replaced more traditional mechanisms for blocking internet services, the Guardian reported.

Comments

Again, Iran shows it knows its stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

Stupid are the rest of the world's peeps!

Re:Smart

[SvnLyrBrto]

Most of the locations are actually user-generated. Niantic imported their POI database from Ingress to populate the map in Pokemon Go.

First country?

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone forgot Saudi Arabia. Iran is only the first to do it over security concerns.