Chinese authorities banned all games with augmented reality technology

Chinese authorities have banned all games for smartphones and other devices using augmented reality technology, including the popular game Pokemon Go, reports Reuters . The basis for the ban was the threat to information and national security, which the Chinese government saw in augmented reality technology in games.

Most often in such projects a camera and a GNSS system are used, devices that transmit visual, geolocation and other data to the developers' servers. According to the Chinese authorities, during the game, the user may be "in the wrong place" or something that is of strategic importance to the security of the country may get into the frame.

In addition to the projects with the use of augmented reality technology, in particular at Pokemon Go, various kinds of accusations are poured. The game is blamed for traffic accidents and privacy violations.

The combination of threats due to the real-time transmission of a significant amount of information about the player, his location and surroundings by the game prompted the authorities of the Middle Kingdom to completely ban such projects.

Games using augmented reality technologies pose “a threat to geographic and information security, a threat to transport and user security,” says the official website of the Chinese National Audio-Visual Association Digital Publishing, which works closely with government censors.

The impetus for the introduction of the ban was the fact that some companies within China themselves engaged in the development and promotion of games, similar in principle to Pokemon Go. As a result, it was decided to suppress at the root the development of this mobile direction.

Another factor for blocking Pokemon Go could be the use of Google Maps by the game, which is blocked in China.