{"id":25772,"date":"2016-07-27T15:53:30","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T20:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=25772"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:53:30","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T20:53:30","slug":"legal-issues-and-pokemon-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2016\/07\/legal-issues-and-pokemon-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Issues and Pok\u00e9mon Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20160727_135932\"<\/a>Okay, I admit it. I\u2019m playing Pok\u00e9mon Go<\/a>. It\u2019s frustratingly addictive.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know, Pok\u00e9mon Go is an app for smartphones; the app is free, but players can make in-app purchases. The idea is for each player to \u201ccatch\u201d creatures known as Pok\u00e9mon, which the player does by \u201cthrowing\u201d what is called a Pok\u00e9ball at them. Once you catch the creatures, each of which has its own special powers and abilities, you can \u201cevolve\u201d them into stronger, more powerful creatures and you can go to gyms to \u201cbattle\u201d other players.<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon Go uses GPS to figure out where a player is located and presents the player with that \u201cmap.\u201d Pok\u00e9stops (where players can go to get free goodies they need to play the game) and gyms are represented on the map as actual places, usually public places like parks, sculptures, or churches. To get to a Pok\u00e9stop or to battle at a gym, a player needs to physically move herself to that location. For example, the Marquette University campus is full of Pok\u00e9stops\u2014e.g., a few sculptures on the southeast side of campus, one of the signs for the Alumni Memorial Union. Dedicated players certainly get some exercise.<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon Go is also interesting because of how it mixes your real-life location with the mythical creatures. When a creature appears, you can take its picture, as if the Pok\u00e9mon is right there in your real world. (See the pictures in this post.)\"IMG_20160722_084109\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But Pok\u00e9mon Go has been at the root of a number of accidents and incidents and it raises a number of interesting legal issues.<\/p>\n

Because players need to focus on their smartphones to locate and catch Pok\u00e9mon, players are not paying attention to the real world and its everyday hazards. We\u2019ve already heard of people playing while driving, which has causes car accidents (e.g., here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>), people who have used the game to rob other players<\/a>, people playing the game who have discovered dead<\/a> bodies<\/a> instead of Pok\u00e9mon, and even a couple of kids who unwittingly and illegally crossed the border<\/a> from Alberta, Canada, into Montana in pursuit of Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n

Aside from the accidents and incidents, the game raises a host of interesting legal issues. For instance, what if the Pok\u00e9stop or gym ends up being someone\u2019s house<\/a> and people show up at all hours to \u201ctrain\u201d at the gym? Or what if the Pok\u00e9stop or gym is in a body of water<\/a>? Is that safe for players? And what about if players need to find<\/a> water to \u201ccatch\u201d the water type Pok\u00e9mon, quarries or other rocky areas to catch the rock type Pok\u00e9mon, cemeteries to catch the ghost\/fairy type Pok\u00e9mon, and power plants to catch electric type Pok\u00e9mon? One can easily imagine issues of personal injury, trespass, or attractive nuisance, among other issues.\"20160727_140142\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As well, players can use what are called \u201clures\u201d at Pok\u00e9stops. A lure is supposed to bring Pok\u00e9mon out to the Pok\u00e9stop so you can catch them, and a Pok\u00e9stop with a lure is visible to other players in that area; thus, the lure draws other players to the Pok\u00e9stop. Some teens in Missouri<\/a> used this technique to lure players to a Pok\u00e9stop only to rob them, but other legal issues could arise. For example, what if a sex offender<\/a> shows up at a Pok\u00e9stop or gym to play the game and, thus, interacts with children? What if a sex offender uses a lure to draw children to a Pok\u00e9stop? Or, considering that a Pok\u00e9stop draws children (although, to be sure, not all Pok\u00e9mon Go players are children), should a registered sex offender be allowed to live near one?<\/p>\n

Or what if a lure or the sighting of a rare Pok\u00e9mon causes hundreds of people<\/a> to congregate at a Pok\u00e9stop or a popular area for Pok\u00e9mon? Should that be regulated? Can it be?<\/p>\n

And what of privacy issues? If a player finds a Pok\u00e9mon in the locker room at the gym and she takes a picture of it, with other gym patrons in the background, is that okay? What about all the information my playing the game has given Niantic<\/a>, the game\u2019s developer, about me, where I live, and where I go? What if that information is hacked? And further, what did I agree to, anyway, when I clicked on through in a hurry to get to the game? (Just a few of the posts on possible legal issues: here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Even if you can catch Pok\u00e9mon anywhere, should you? Both<\/a> Arlington National Cemetery and the Holocaust Museum have asked visitors to refrain from playing the game in those places. And while you might find some interesting Pok\u00e9mon in the courthouse, it\u2019s best\u2014as an officer of the court\u2014to avoid catching them. There aren\u2019t many in Eckstein Hall<\/a>, but even if they could be found, you can be certain that no professor will appreciate you catching one during class.<\/p>\n

But there are still several weeks left before school starts; I\u2019m off to locate that Charmeleon I missed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay, I admit it. I\u2019m playing Pok\u00e9mon Go. It\u2019s frustratingly addictive. For those who don\u2019t know, Pok\u00e9mon Go is an app for smartphones; the app is free, but players can make in-app purchases. The idea is for each player to \u201ccatch\u201d creatures known as Pok\u00e9mon, which the player does by \u201cthrowing\u201d what is called a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,7,37,122,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer-law","category-intellectual-property-law","category-popular-culture-and-law","category-public","category-tort-law","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}