Gov. Cuomo directs DOCCS to restrict sex offenders' use of Pokemon Go

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo today directed the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to restrict sex offenders under community supervision from using Pokémon GO and similar games. In an effort to safeguard New York's children, the Governor also sent a letter to software developer Niantic, Inc. requesting their assistance in prohibiting dangerous sexual predators from playing Pokémon GO. "Protecting New York's children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don't become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims," Gov. Cuomo said. "These actions will provide safeguards for the players of these augmented reality games and help take one more tool away from those seeking to do harm to our children." At the Governor's direction, DOCCS has imposed a new condition of parole for sex offenders under community supervision that will prohibit them from downloading, accessing, or otherwise engaging in any Internet enabled gaming activities, including Pokémon GO. The directive will apply to nearly 3,000 sex offenders currently on parole. The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) will additionally be providing guidance to county probation offices recommending the adoption of this policy. The Governor has also directed DCJS to reach out to Niantic, Inc. to provide the most up-to-date information of offenders within the Sex Offender Registry. DCJS will also contact Apple and Google to inform them of these public safety concerns and work with them to enhance user safety. These actions were spurred by a recent report by Senators Jeffrey D. Klein and Diane Savino demonstrating that children playing this popular augmented reality game have unknowingly been steered to locations in close proximity to, or even at, sex offender residences. Additionally, a feature of the game, where, for a small fee, a "lure" can be purchased to intentionally encourage traffic to a particular location, also appears to have the potential to be abused by predators. "Pokémon GO provided sex offenders with a virtual road map to our children. We know that pedophiles always seek new ways to lure victims and this new technology that entertains our kids, could also bring them close to dangerous individuals instead of Pokémon. In fact, my Pokémon GO investigation uncovered a disturbing correlation between high level sex offenders' residences and in-game objectives," said Senator Jeffrey D. Klein. "While this directive is a good first step, there's still more work to be done legislatively to protect children who use this technology and I will continue to monitor this situation." "Pokémon GO entertains our children, but it forgets about the reality of this world: it can be dangerous. Sex offenders who download the game legally could pinpoint hot spots where children congregate, like pokestops or gyms, and meet them in person," Senator Diane Savino said. "I thank Governor Cuomo for immediately responding to our investigation in the interest of children across New York State."

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Gov. Cuomo directs DOCCS to restrict sex offenders' use of Pokemon Go

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