Spying Fears Lead to Pentagon Pokemon Restrictions

(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

The popular Pokemon Go is now a no-no at the Pentagon. The Defense Department, citing fears of spying, has banned the game from employees’ work phones, and ordered a stop to play inside the building and other department facilities, according to published accounts.

DoD’s primary concern appears to be the game’s tracking of players—fine in a public park, problematic in a highly secure facility. The game uses GPS and Google Maps to meld the game’s digital creatures with the player’s real world location.

According to The Guardian, the Pentagon recently had a “gym,” an area where Pokemon players can fight and train the virtual characters they have gathered. The gym, which would have been designated by the game’s distributor Niantic, is now gone, the Guardian reports.

DoD outlined its position on the game in a memo issued July 19, obtained by the Washington Times.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cdr. Patrick Evans, quoted at CNN.com, said there is no ban on the game itself for Pentagon personnel, but the apps needed to play it are not approved for government-issued devices.

"As always, we encourage our employees to use sound judgment when using their personal or private devices at and away from work,” Evans said.













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