Pokémon Go Banned in Iran over Security Concerns

Several governments around the world are worried about Pokemon Go and its security implications, but one country in particular has already decided to take things to a whole new level by banning the game altogether. We’re talking about Iran, of course, the same country that banned Battlefield 3 a few years ago. Apparently, several “security concerns” have caused the country’s High Council of Virtual Spaces to ban the game, but we don’t have any information regarding a precise reason for this decision at the time of writing. However, it’s worth noting that there have been some reports that Iran actually wanted to see how much Niantic would be willing to cooperate with them before they actually took action, and by the looks of it, things didn’t go too well.

Still, it’s not too hard to understand why the government took this action, as civilians could easily walk near military bases or other restricted areas during their gaming sessions, and this could indeed prove dangerous, if not life-threatening. Then there’s the issue of large-scale gatherings that the game could possibly encourage, especially if these would lead to protests against the people who are currently in charge. In any case, the fact that the game was banned at all just goes to show how much attention it managed to draw since its release.