Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Nintendo about incidences of trespass or disrespecting of cemeteries or religious sites caused by players of Pokémon Go.

Matt Hancock

Many people in the UK enjoy playing Pokemon Go and most act responsibly whilst doing so. It is important that all players abide by the law and respect their surroundings. During the summer Pokemon Go’s developers in the US, Niantic, added some new warnings to the game’s loading screen, for example reminding players not to trespass and not to enter dangerous areas. Owners or managers of specific sites who are concerned about players visiting a nearby PokeStop or Gym are able to use Niantic’s report system to request that the stop is removed from the game.

Meanwhile, we are in touch with representatives of Niantic to discuss features of Pokemon Go and the advice they provide to consumers in the UK.